Psalm 44 14

Psalm 44:14 kjv

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

Psalm 44:14 nkjv

You make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.

Psalm 44:14 niv

You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us.

Psalm 44:14 esv

You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

Psalm 44:14 nlt

You have made us the butt of their jokes;
they shake their heads at us in scorn.

Psalm 44 verses

Psalm 44 14 Meaning

Psalm 44:14 articulates the profound humiliation and public disgrace experienced by the people of God. It describes how the Lord has caused them to become an object of scorn, a proverb, and a laughingstock among the Gentile nations. This means their plight is so severe and notorious that they are pointed at, mocked, and cited as an example of folly or misfortune by surrounding peoples. It highlights their perceived divine abandonment and the resulting mockery from those who do not worship the one true God.

Psalm 44 14 Context

Psalm 44 is a communal lament in which the people of Israel appeal to God during a time of national catastrophe. Unlike other laments where sin is confessed, here the people maintain their innocence and faithfulness to God, expressing bewilderment at their suffering. The preceding verses recall God's past glorious acts of deliverance, asserting that their success never came by their own might but by God's hand (Ps 44:3). The verses immediately preceding verse 14 (Ps 44:9-13) describe their current plight: defeat in battle, plunder, scattering, being sold for a trifle, and facing derision. Verse 14 specifically highlights the international aspect of their humiliation, as God has apparently made them a public spectacle of mockery among Gentile nations. This challenges their understanding of the covenant, which promised protection and blessing for faithfulness. Historically, this psalm could resonate with experiences like the Assyrian invasions, the Babylonian Exile, or other periods of national subjugation and distress, where Israel's suffering led to the pagan nations questioning the power and faithfulness of their God. It expresses the acute theological dilemma of being God's chosen people yet experiencing profound disgrace.

Psalm 44 14 Word analysis

• You: Refers to God, directly addressing the Divine Sovereign. This points to God's active, though painful, role in their predicament, not just as an allowance but as an intentional 'making.'
• make (תְּשִׂימֵנוּ - tᵉśîmēnū): From the Hebrew root שׂוּם (sum), meaning "to set," "place," "make," or "appoint." It indicates God's direct agency and decisive action, portraying Him as the orchestrator of their current humiliating state, challenging common assumptions about divine protection.
• us: Refers to the collective body of Israel, the covenant people, the community praying this lament. It emphasizes the communal suffering and shared experience of shame.
• a byword (מָשָׁל - mashal): This Hebrew term signifies a proverb, a parable, an adage, or a popular saying. Here, it denotes an object of common, scornful talk, often cited as an example of ruin, failure, or misfortune. It's a verbal weapon used by others to deride them, akin to how Deut 28:37 uses it to describe the consequences of covenant infidelity.
• among the nations (בַגּוֹיִם - baggôyim): Refers to the Gentile peoples, all non-Israelite populations. This emphasizes the widespread and public nature of their humiliation, contrasting with Israel's divinely appointed status as a light to these nations. Their suffering challenges the perception of their God by external observers, potentially implying a polemic where pagan nations see Israel's plight as proof of their own gods' superiority or Yahweh's weakness.
• a laughingstock (שְׁחֹוק - sᵉḥôq): From the Hebrew root שָׁחַק (shaḥaq), meaning "to laugh at," "mock," "deride." It means an object of derision or amusement, someone to be scorned or mocked. This word deepens the shame, indicating not just being spoken about but being actively ridiculed.
• among the peoples (בַלְאֻמִּים - bal'ummîm): Similar to "among the nations," further reiterating the widespread and inescapable nature of their public shame and contempt. Le’ummim (peoples/nations) often functions as a poetic synonym or intensifier for goyim.
• words-group: "You make us a byword... a laughingstock": This phrase intensifies the divine agency and the depth of their disgrace. It’s a dual description of their humiliation: they are both cited as a proverb of misfortune and actively mocked. The parallel structure highlights the public nature of their plight and God's perceived role in orchestrating it.
• words-group: "among the nations... among the peoples": This repetition underscores the vast scope of their ignominy. Their suffering is not hidden but is globally visible, intensifying their shame and posing a theological crisis: How could the Almighty God allow His chosen people to be so thoroughly debased before His enemies? This serves as a significant lament, questioning divine intervention or justice, echoing warnings from the Mosaic covenant about the consequences of forsaking God (e.g., Deut 28).

Psalm 44 14 Bonus section

The lament in Psalm 44:14 holds a powerful pre-echo of the experience of the Suffering Servant (Isa 53) and ultimately Jesus Christ, who endured profound shame, mockery, and rejection even by those who claimed to know God, and certainly by the nations. The 'byword' and 'laughingstock' element in Israel's lament reflects the experience of persecution and being considered fools for Christ by the world, a theme that resonates strongly in the New Testament (e.g., 1 Cor 4:9-13; Heb 11:36-38). The perceived divine abandonment and resulting derision posed by this Psalm represent a foundational crisis in the relationship between God and His people, pushing them to question and understand divine sovereignty and faithfulness in the midst of profound, undeserved suffering. It demonstrates a form of "prophetic lament" where the psalmist's complaint against God's seeming inaction simultaneously pleads for Him to act, thereby upholding God's covenant loyalty.

Psalm 44 14 Commentary

Psalm 44:14 captures the excruciating spiritual and emotional agony of being utterly humiliated in the sight of the world. It’s a heart-cry born from a theological paradox: the faithful covenant people are suffering as if they were God's enemies, made an object of scorn by those who do not know God. The psalmist expresses the perception that God Himself has engineered this disgrace, leading to intense confusion and grief. This is not just physical defeat but an existential crisis, where their identity as God's chosen is severely challenged by their outward circumstances. The mockery of Gentile nations acts as a taunt, questioning God's power and presence, which for the psalmist, is more painful than the physical defeat itself. The verse functions as a protest against the divine permission or orchestration of such profound shame.