לתשובת המינים

Psalm 69:4

Who is Hated without reason?

John 15:25
Psalm 69:9 Zeal for Your House John 2:17
Psalm 69:9 Not please himself Romans 15:3
Psalms 69:25 Judas Acts 1:20

"More abundant than hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause. Mighty are those who would cut me off, those who are unjustly my foes; what I never stole I must then restore." Vs. 4.

"For the envy of Your House devoured me, and the disgraces of those who scorn You have fallen upon me." Vs. 9.

"Pour your fury upon them, and let the fierceness of You anger overtake them." Vs. 25.

This Psalm is quoted fairly often throughout the Christian Bible, primarily to show the Nazarene was supposed to be rejected. Other verses such as 21 are also used by missionaries as Christian proof texts.

Before I continue, I would like to note how an inaccurate quotation can lead to inaccurate interpretations. Acts 1:20 cites verse 25 along with another passage (never mind that they seem to say the opposite) in regards to the vacancy in the Apostleship caused by Judas betrayal and death. One may notice that the Act's passage reads, "May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it." Compare this to verse 25 in the same Christian translation, "May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents" (NIV).

Notice that despite their differences, both our quote of 69:25 and that of the NIV speak in the third person plural, in accordance with the Hebrew. The verse as quoted by the book of Acts uses the third person singular. If Acts had maintained the proper translation, this verse couldn't have been applied to the situation being discussed since only one vacancy was made because only one Apostle apostatized in the Gospel account.

Now, since each Psalm is a single unit, let us look at this Psalm as a whole. I wish to highlight verse 5, which reads, "O God, You know my folly, and my guilty acts are not hidden from You." Christianity considers the Nazarene to be guiltless and without sin, and therefore cannot apply this verse to him. Now read verse 24, "Pour your fury upon them, and let the fierceness of Your anger overtake them." Christians believe that the Nazarene response was, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do."

The context of these passages shows that they clearly do not refer to the sinless Nazarene of Christian theology. The speaker of the Psalm acknowledges his guilt before God and prays for deliverance. He is not concerned about a single adversary but many, nor does Judas' place remain empty but the book of Acts specifically names a successor (Matthias, Acts 1:26).