Psalm 69:21
New International Version
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

New Living Translation
But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

English Standard Version
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Berean Standard Bible
They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.

King James Bible
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

New King James Version
They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

New American Standard Bible
They also gave me a bitter herb in my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

NASB 1995
They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

NASB 1977
They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Legacy Standard Bible
They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Amplified Bible
They (self-righteous hypocrites) also gave me gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Christian Standard Bible
Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

American Standard Version
They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Contemporary English Version
Enemies poisoned my food, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar.

English Revised Version
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They poisoned my food, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Good News Translation
When I was hungry, they gave me poison; when I was thirsty, they offered me vinegar.

International Standard Version
They put poison in my food, in my thirst they forced me to drink vinegar.

Majority Standard Bible
They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.

NET Bible
They put bitter poison into my food, and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

New Heart English Bible
They also gave me gall for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

Webster's Bible Translation
They gave me also gall for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

World English Bible
They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And they give gall for my food, "" And cause me to drink vinegar for my thirst.

Young's Literal Translation
And they give for my food gall, And for my thirst cause me to drink vinegar.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will give my food poison, and for my thirst they will give me vinegar to drink.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they gave me gall for my food. And in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

New American Bible
Instead they gave me poison for my food; and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.

New Revised Standard Version
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They gave me bitter herbs for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They put bitter herbs in my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Yea, they put poison into my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They gave me also gall for my food, and made me drink vinegar for my thirst.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Waters Are Up to My Neck
20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one. 21They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst. 22May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.…

Cross References
Matthew 27:34
they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

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.

Matthew 27:48
One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.

Mark 15:23
There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it.

Mark 15:36
And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

Luke 23:36
The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine.

John 19:29
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.

Isaiah 53:3-4
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. / Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

Lamentations 3:15
He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood.

Lamentations 3:19
Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall.

Jeremiah 8:14
Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:15
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.

Jeremiah 23:15
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

Proverbs 25:20
Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Job 6:6-7
Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg? / My soul refuses to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.


Treasury of Scripture

They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

gall for my meat.

John 19:29
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

Jeremiah 8:14
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:15
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

vinegar

Mark 15:23,36
And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not…

Luke 23:36
And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

John 19:29,30
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth…

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Bitter Cause Drink Food Gall Meat Poison Thirst Vinegar Wine
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Bitter Cause Drink Food Gall Meat Poison Thirst Vinegar Wine
Psalm 69
1. David complains of his affliction
13. He prays for deliverance
22. He devotes his enemies to destruction
30. He praises God with thanksgiving














They poisoned my food
This phrase reflects a deep sense of betrayal and suffering. The Hebrew word for "poisoned" is "נָתַן" (natan), which generally means "to give" or "to set." In this context, it implies giving something harmful or deceitful. Historically, this can be seen as a metaphor for the treachery and malice that David, the psalmist, experienced from his enemies. It also prophetically points to the suffering of Christ, who was betrayed and given vinegar to drink during His crucifixion. The act of poisoning food symbolizes the ultimate betrayal and the perversion of something meant to sustain life into an instrument of harm.

and gave me vinegar to drink
The word "vinegar" in Hebrew is "חֹמֶץ" (chometz), which refers to sour wine or vinegar. This phrase is a direct prophecy of the Messiah's suffering, fulfilled in the New Testament when Jesus was offered vinegar to drink on the cross (John 19:29-30). Vinegar, a common drink for Roman soldiers, was cheap and readily available, symbolizing the scorn and mockery Jesus faced. The offering of vinegar instead of water or wine highlights the depth of His physical and spiritual anguish. It serves as a poignant reminder of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in the New Testament, showcasing the continuity and divine inspiration of Scripture. This act of giving vinegar instead of something refreshing underscores the rejection and humiliation that Christ endured for humanity's redemption.

(21) Gall.--Heb., rosh, i.e., head. (Comp. poppy heads. See Deuteronomy 32:32.) In Hosea 10:4 it is translated hemlock, but is most probably the poppy (papaver arenarium), which grows everywhere in Palestine, and answers all the conditions. The rendering, gall, comes from the LXX.

Vinegar.--Sour wine would not be rejected as unpalatable (see Note Ruth 2:14). It was forbidden to Nazarites as a luxury (Numbers 6:3). Was the author of the psalm possibly a Nazarite? or are the expressions in the psalm merely figurative. Comp.

"The banquet where the meats became

As wormwood." . . .

Verse 21. - They gave me also gall for my meat. Here, at any rate, the psalmist is inspired to be Messianic, i.e. to use words which, while they can only be applied to himself metaphorically and loosely, are in the strictest and most literal sense applicable to Christ. Gall was actually mingled with the drink which was given to Christ just before he was crucified, and which he tasted, but would not swallow (Matthew 27:34). And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Similarly, when upon the cress Christ uttered the words, "I thirst," those who stood by "filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his month. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished; and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost" (John 19:29, 30); comp. Psalm 22:16-18, where little facts, not true of David, but true of Christ, are recorded of an afflicted one, who partly represents David, partly his great Descendant.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They poisoned
וַיִּתְּנ֣וּ (way·yit·tə·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

my food
בְּבָרוּתִ֣י (bə·ḇā·rū·ṯî)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1267: Food

with gall
רֹ֑אשׁ (rōš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7219: A poisonous plant, the poppy, poison

and gave me vinegar
חֹֽמֶץ׃ (ḥō·meṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2558: Vinegar

to quench
יַשְׁק֥וּנִי (yaš·qū·nî)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular
Strong's 8248: To quaff, to irrigate, furnish a, potion to

my thirst.
וְ֝לִצְמָאִ֗י (wə·liṣ·mā·’î)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6772: Thirst


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OT Poetry: Psalm 69:21 They also gave me gall for my (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 69:20
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