Psalm 79:4
New International Version
We are objects of contempt to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

New Living Translation
We are mocked by our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

English Standard Version
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.

Berean Standard Bible
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us.

King James Bible
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

New King James Version
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

New American Standard Bible
We have become a disgrace before our neighbors, An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.

NASB 1995
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to those around us.

NASB 1977
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to those around us.

Legacy Standard Bible
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A mockery and derision to those around us.

Amplified Bible
We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation], A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.

Christian Standard Bible
We have become an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
We have become an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.

American Standard Version
We are become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us.

Contemporary English Version
Every nation around us sneers and makes fun.

English Revised Version
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.

Good News Translation
The surrounding nations insult us; they laugh at us and mock us.

International Standard Version
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and a derision to those around us.

Majority Standard Bible
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us.

NET Bible
We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors; those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.

New Heart English Bible
We have become objects of contempt to our neighbors, mocked and ridiculed by those who are around us.

Webster's Bible Translation
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are around us.

World English Bible
We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those who are around us.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
We have been a reproach to our neighbors, "" A scorn and a derision to our surrounders.

Young's Literal Translation
We have been a reproach to our neighbours, A scorn and a derision to our surrounders.

Smith's Literal Translation
We were a reproach to our neighbors, a derision and scorn to those being round about us.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Catholic Public Domain Version
We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, an object of ridicule and mockery to those who are around us.

New American Bible
We have become the reproach of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.

New Revised Standard Version
We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
We were a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and a laughingstock to those around us.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
We are become a taunt to our neighbours, A scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Prayer for Deliverance
3They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. 4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us. 5How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?…

Cross References
Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.

Lamentations 2:15-16
All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?” / All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”

Ezekiel 5:14-15
I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. / So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Deuteronomy 28:37
You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

1 Kings 9:7
then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.

2 Chronicles 7:20
then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

Jeremiah 18:16
They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.

Jeremiah 19:8
I will make this city a desolation and an object of scorn. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds.

Jeremiah 25:9
behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

Jeremiah 29:18
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.

Jeremiah 42:18
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

Jeremiah 44:8
Why are you provoking Me to anger by the work of your hands by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to reside? As a result, you will be cut off and will become an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations of the earth.

Ezekiel 36:3
therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations and were taken up in slander by the lips of their talkers,

Ezekiel 36:15
I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.”

Daniel 9:16
O Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, I pray that Your anger and wrath may turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us.


Treasury of Scripture

We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

become

Psalm 44:13,14
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us…

Psalm 80:6
Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Psalm 89:41
All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

scorn

1 Kings 9:7
Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

Nehemiah 4:1-4
But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews…

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Psalm 79
1. The psalmist complains of the desolation of Jerusalem
8. He prays for deliverance
13. and promises thankfulness














We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us
We have become
This phrase indicates a transformation or change in status. The Hebrew root here is "הָיִינוּ" (hayinu), which suggests a shift from a previous state of honor or neutrality to one of disgrace. Historically, this reflects the period of Israel's history when they faced national calamity, likely during the Babylonian exile. The people of Israel, once a proud nation under God’s covenant, now find themselves in a state of humiliation.

a reproach
The Hebrew word "חֶרְפָּה" (cherpah) is used here, meaning disgrace or shame. In the ancient Near Eastern context, being a reproach meant being the subject of public scorn and ridicule. This was not just a personal shame but a communal one, affecting the entire identity of the people of Israel. It reflects the deep sense of dishonor felt by the Israelites as they faced the consequences of their disobedience to God.

to our neighbors
The term "שְׁכֵנֵינוּ" (shekhenenu) refers to those who are geographically close, the surrounding nations. In the historical context, these neighbors were often hostile or competitive, such as the Philistines, Moabites, and Edomites. The Israelites' downfall provided these nations with an opportunity to mock and deride them, exacerbating their sense of shame.

a scorn
The word "קֶלֶס" (qeles) implies mockery or ridicule. This is a step beyond reproach, indicating active derision. In the biblical narrative, this reflects the taunting and jeering from surrounding nations who saw Israel's suffering as a vindication of their own gods or as a failure of Israel's God to protect them.

and derision
The Hebrew "לַעַג" (la'ag) conveys contempt and ridicule. This term is often used in the Psalms to describe the mocking of the righteous by the wicked. It underscores the depth of Israel's humiliation, as they are not only scorned but also held in contempt by those who do not understand or respect their covenant relationship with God.

to those around us
This phrase, "סְבִיבוֹתֵינוּ" (sevivoteinu), emphasizes the encircling presence of adversaries. It paints a picture of Israel being surrounded by those who are eager to see their downfall. In a broader scriptural context, it serves as a reminder of the spiritual and physical battles that God's people face, often feeling encircled by opposition.

(4) This verse occurs Psalm 44:13. Also possibly a Maccabaean psalm. (See Introduction to that psalm.)

The scenes still witnessed by travellers at the Jews' wailing-place offer a striking illustration of the foregoing verses, showing, as they do, how deep-seated is the love of an ancient place in the Oriental mind. (See a striking description in Porter's Giant Cities of Bashan.)

Verse 4. - We are become a reproach to our neighbours (comp. Psalm 44:13; Lamentations 2:15; Lamentations 5:1. The "neighbours" intended are the nations in the vicinity of the Holy Land - the Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, etc. Their attitude towards Israel under the circumstances may be gathered from what is related of the Edomites in Psalm 137:7. A scorn and derision to them that are round about us. It was not so much the "reproaches" of their enemies that vexed and grieved Israel, as the jeers and scoffs which they heard on every side (comp. Lamentations 1:7, 20; Lamentations 2:15; Lamentations 3:62, 63).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
We have become
הָיִ֣ינוּ (hā·yî·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a reproach
חֶ֭רְפָּה (ḥer·pāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2781: Contumely, disgrace, the pudenda

to our neighbors,
לִשְׁכֵנֵ֑ינוּ (liš·ḵê·nê·nū)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 7934: A resident, a fellow-citizen

a scorn
לַ֥עַג (la·‘aḡ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3933: A mocking, derision

and derision
וָ֝קֶ֗לֶס (wā·qe·les)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7047: A laughing-stock

to those around us.
לִסְבִיבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ (lis·ḇî·ḇō·w·ṯê·nū)
Preposition-l | Adverb | first person common plural
Strong's 5439: A circle, neighbour, environs, around


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OT Poetry: Psalm 79:4 We have become a reproach to our (Psalm Ps Psa.)
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