Psalms 44:14

Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
makest	תְּשִׂימֵ֣נוּ te.si.Me.nu	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
byword	מָ֭שָׁל Ma.shol	H4912	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
heathen	בַּגּוֹיִ֑ם ba.go.Yim	H1471	a foreign nation · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
shaking	מְנֽוֹד me.nod-	H4493	a nodding or toss (of the head in derision) · noun, common masculine singular construct
head	רֹ֝֗אשׁ Rosh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
people	לְאֹם lᵉʼôm	H3816	a community

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse…
Deuteronomy 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
2 Kings 19:21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; th…
Job 16:4 I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
Job 17:6 He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
Lamentations 2:15-17 All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call…
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…
2 Chronicles 7:20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I c…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 44:9-16

The people of God here complain to him of the low and afflicted condition that they were now in, under the prevailing power of their enemies and oppressors, which was the more grievous to them because they were now trampled upon, who had always been used, in their struggles with their neighbours, to win the day and get the upper hand, and because those were now their oppressors whom they had many a time triumphed over and made tributaries, and especially because they had boasted in their God with great assurance that he would still protect and prosper them, which made the distress they were in, and the disgrace they were under, the more shameful. Let us see what the complaint is. I. That the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 44:13

(Compare Deu 28:37; Psa 79:4).

John Gill on Psalms 44:14

Thou makest us a byword among the Heathen,.... Among the Papists, as the Jews were among the Gentiles, Deuteronomy 28:37; calling them schismatics, heretics, fanatics, and what not? a shaking of the head among the people; by way of indignation, scorn, and contempt; see Psalm 22:7.

John Calvin on Psalms 44:9-14

Psalm 44:9-14 9. Nevertheless thou hast abhorred us, [139] and put us to shame: and thou goest not forth with our armies. 10. Thou hast made us to turn back from the enemy: and they that hate us have made of us a spoil for themselves. 11. Thou hast given us as sheep for food: and thou hast scattered us among the heathen. 12. Thou hast sold thy people, and not become rich, [140] and thou hast not increased the price of them. 13. Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. 14. Thou hast made us a byword among the heathen, and a nodding of the head among the people. 9. Nevertheless thou hast abhorred us Here follows a complaint, in whic…

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The Church Fathers

"You made us a similitude among the heathen" [Psalm 44:14]. What is meant by a "similitude"? It is when men in imprecating a curse make a "similitude" of his name whom they detest. "So may thou die;" "So may thou be punished!" What a number of such reproaches were then uttered! "So may thou be crucified!" Even in the present day there are not wanting enemies of Christ (those very Jews themselves), against whom whenever we defend Christ, they say unto us, "So may thou die as He did." For they would not have inflicted that kind of death had they not an intense horror of dying by such a death: or had they been able to comprehend what mystery was contained in it. When the ointment is applied to the eyes of the blind man, he does not see the eye-salve in the physician's hand. For the very Cross was made for the benefit even of the persecutors themselves. Hereby they were healed afterwards; and they believed in Him whom they themselves had slain. "You made us a similitude among the heathen; a shaking of the head among the peoples," a "shaking of the head" by way of insult. "They spoke with their lips, they shook the head." This they did to the Lord: this to all His Saints also, whom they were able to pursue, to lay hold of, to mock, to betray, to afflict, and to slay.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 44

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

By-word — Hebrew millah (Job 30:9), a word or speech, and hence object of talk; Hebrew mashal (Ps. 44:14), a proverb or parable. When it denotes a sharp word of derision, as in Deut. 28:37, 1 Kings 9:7, 2 Chr.…
Psalms — The psalms are the production of various authors. “Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another…
Gentiles · Hated and despised the Jews — Hated and despised the Jews
Jews, The · All other nations: Rejoiced at calamities of — All other nations: Rejoiced at calamities of
Murmuring · AGAINST GO — AGAINST GO
War · 28:25-68;32:30; — 28:25-68;32:30;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 44:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 44:9-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 44:13

John Gill on Psalms 44:14

John Calvin on Psalms 44:9-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 44:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 44:9-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 44:13

John Gill on Psalms 44:14

John Calvin on Psalms 44:9-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 44:13-16

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 44:11

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 44:14