Psalm 35:21
New International Version
They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.”

New Living Translation
They shout, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”

English Standard Version
They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

Berean Standard Bible
They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”

King James Bible
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

New King James Version
They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.

New American Standard Bible
They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

NASB 1995
They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

NASB 1977
And they opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

Legacy Standard Bible
They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

Amplified Bible
They open their mouths wide against me; They say, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”

Christian Standard Bible
They open their mouths wide against me and say, “Aha, aha! We saw it! ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They open their mouths wide against me and say,” Aha, aha! We saw it!”

American Standard Version
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me; They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

Contemporary English Version
They are quick to accuse me. They say, "You did it! We saw you ourselves."

English Revised Version
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me; they said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They open their big mouths and say about me, "Aha! Aha! Our own eyes have seen it."

Good News Translation
They accuse me, shouting, "We saw what you did!"

International Standard Version
They open their mouth wide against me, claiming, "Yes! Yes! We saw him do it with our own eyes!"

Majority Standard Bible
They gape at me and say, ?Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!?

NET Bible
They are ready to devour me; they say, "Aha! Aha! We've got you!"

New Heart English Bible
Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, "Aha. Aha. Our eye has seen it."

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

World English Bible
Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And they enlarge their mouth against me, "" They said, “Aha, aha, our eye has seen.”

Young's Literal Translation
And they enlarge against me their mouth, They said, 'Aha, aha, our eye hath seen.'

Smith's Literal Translation
They will widen their mouth upon me: they said, Aha! aha our eye saw it.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they opened their mouth wide against me; they said : Well done, well done, our eyes have seen it.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they opened their mouth wide over me. They said, “Well, well, our eyes have seen.”

New American Bible
They open wide their mouths against me. They say, “Aha! Good! Our eyes have seen it!”

New Revised Standard Version
They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Yea, they opened their mouths wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye has seen it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They opened their mouths against me and they said, "Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it"!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Yea, they open their mouth wide against me; They say: 'Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they opened wide their mouth upon me; they said Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Contend with My Opponents
20For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land. 21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!” 22O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.…

Cross References
Matthew 27:39-44
And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads / and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” / In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, ...

Mark 15:29-32
And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, / come down from the cross and save Yourself!” / In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! ...

Luke 23:35-39
The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” / The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. / “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” ...

John 19:28-30
After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” / A jar of sour wine was sitting there. So they soaked a sponge in the wine, put it on a stalk of hyssop, and lifted it to His mouth. / When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.

Acts 7:54-60
On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. / But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. / “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ...

Romans 3:13-14
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.” / “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

James 3:5-10
In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. / The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. / All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ...

1 Peter 2:23
When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.

Job 16:10
They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.

Job 30:9-10
And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. / They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Isaiah 57:4
Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deceit,

Lamentations 2:16
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 25:6
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt,

Micah 7:8-10
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. / Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness. / Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.


Treasury of Scripture

Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye has seen it.

Yea

Psalm 22:13
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

Isaiah 9:12
The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Luke 11:53,54
And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: …

Aha

Psalm 40:15
Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

Psalm 54:7
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

Psalm 70:3
Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

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Psalm 35
1. David prays for his own safety, and his enemies' confusion
11. He complains of their wrongful dealing
22. Thereby he incites God against them














They gape at me
The phrase "They gape at me" suggests an image of open-mouthed astonishment or mockery. In the Hebrew text, the word used here can imply a sense of malicious delight or scorn. Historically, this reflects the behavior of adversaries who are eager to witness the downfall of the psalmist, often identified as David. This reaction is not just passive observation but an active participation in the humiliation of the righteous. In a broader scriptural context, this mirrors the treatment of Jesus Christ during His passion, where onlookers mocked Him, fulfilling the prophetic nature of the Psalms.

and say, 'Aha, aha!'
The repetition of "Aha, aha!" is an expression of triumph or gloating. In Hebrew, such repetition emphasizes the intensity of the emotion. This phrase captures the delight of the psalmist's enemies in what they perceive as his misfortune or failure. Historically, this reflects the cultural context of ancient Near Eastern taunts, where verbal expressions were powerful tools of psychological warfare. From a conservative Christian perspective, this can be seen as a foreshadowing of the mockery faced by Christ, highlighting the timeless nature of the righteous suffering at the hands of the wicked.

Our eyes have seen!
This declaration, "Our eyes have seen!" implies a sense of vindication or proof. The enemies of the psalmist claim to have witnessed his downfall, which they interpret as validation of their accusations or beliefs. In the Hebrew context, seeing is often equated with understanding or knowing, suggesting that the adversaries believe they have gained insight or confirmation of the psalmist's supposed guilt or failure. In a broader biblical narrative, this reflects the human tendency to judge based on appearances, contrasting with God's deeper understanding of the heart. For Christians, this serves as a reminder that earthly judgments are often flawed and that true vindication comes from God alone.

Verse 21. - Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha! our eye hath seen it. They "opened their mouth wide" in scornful derision; and shouted triumphantly, "Ha, ha! our eye hath seen his downfall!"

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They gape
פִּ֫יהֶ֥ם (pî·hem)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

at me
עָלַ֗י (‘ā·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

and say,
אָ֭מְרוּ (’ā·mə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Aha,
הֶאָ֣ח ׀ (he·’āḥ)
Interjection
Strong's 1889: Aha!

aha!
הֶאָ֑ח (he·’āḥ)
Interjection
Strong's 1889: Aha!

Our eyes
עֵינֵֽינוּ׃ (‘ê·nê·nū)
Noun - cdc | first person common plural
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

have seen!”
רָאֲתָ֥ה (rā·’ă·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7200: To see


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OT Poetry: Psalm 35:21 Yes they opened their mouth wide against (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 35:20
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