“Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 35:21 Mean?
"Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it." David's enemies gloat openly: mouths wide, shouting 'Aha!' — they've witnessed his downfall and celebrate it. The gloating is public, vocal, and mocking. The wide-open mouth is the posture of someone devouring another's misery.
The double "Aha, aha" (he'ach he'ach) is the sound of mockery: an exclamation of malicious satisfaction, the verbal equivalent of rubbing hands together while watching someone fall. The repetition intensifies the cruelty. Once wasn't enough. They say it twice.
The "our eye hath seen it" (ra'atah eynenu — our eye has seen) means the enemies witnessed David's suffering firsthand: they're not hearing rumors. They SAW it. The gloating is eyewitness-based. They watched David fall, and the watching produced pleasure, not compassion.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Who has celebrated your suffering — and what did their 'aha' do to you?
- 2.What does the wide-open mouth of mockery teach about how cruelty feeds on pain?
- 3.How does the enemies' eyewitness gloating — they SAW and celebrated — compound the suffering?
- 4.What does bringing the mockers' 'aha' to God in prayer do that retaliation can't?
Devotional
Aha! Aha! They've seen it. David's enemies don't just observe his suffering — they celebrate it. Mouths open wide, shouting with malicious joy, confirming that they witnessed the fall with their own eyes. The gloating is specific, public, and doubled for emphasis.
The 'opened their mouth wide against me' is the posture of mockery — the wide mouth that devours someone's humiliation. It's the face of the person who ENJOYS your suffering. Not someone who pities your fall. Someone who celebrates it. The open mouth that should express compassion expresses appetite — they're feeding on your pain.
The 'Aha, aha' is the cruelest sound: the exclamation of satisfied mockery. They'd been waiting for this. They wanted to see David fall. And now they have. And the sound they make isn't 'oh no' but 'aha!' The satisfaction is audible. The cruelty has a sound effect.
The 'our eye hath seen it' removes any deniability: they didn't hear about it secondhand. They WATCHED. They were present for the suffering. And their presence produced gloating, not help. They were close enough to help and chose to mock. The proximity that should have produced compassion produced 'aha.'
Who has said 'aha' over your suffering — and what does bringing that pain to God (instead of retaliating) look like?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me,.... In laughter, scorn, and derision; see Psa 22:7;
and said, Aha, aha:…
Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me - See the notes at Psa 22:13. And said, Aha, aha! - See Psa 40:15; Psa…
In these verses, as before,
I. David describes the great injustice, malice, and insolence, of his persecutors, pleading…
And they open … a gesture of contempt (Isa 57:4), rather than of murderous intent (Psa 35:35): they say, Aha, aha, our…
Cross References
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