Bible Strands
Psalms 70:3
May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God in a prayer for deliverance, positioned between a plea for enemy confounding and a petition for God’s faithful to rejoice.
The words — The Hebrew יָשׁוּבוּ (Ya.shu.vu) literally means “may they turn back,” and עֵקֶב בּשְׁתָּם (‘eqev bashtam) translates to “the consequence of their shame.”
The thread — This motif appears in Psalms 40:15, where the same mocking phrase triggers shame, and echoes in Proverbs 24:17 and Acts 1:18 regarding the fate of adversaries.
Why it lands — The text states that mockers will retreat under shame, requiring the reader to reject gloating and trust God’s judicial reversal over personal retaliation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
Cross-references
- Psalms 40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
- Proverbs 24:17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
- Acts 1:18 (Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Psalms 35:21 They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
- Psalms 35:25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
- Ezekiel 25:3 Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,
- Ezekiel 26:2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’
- Ezekiel 36:2 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’