Psalms 35:16 Commentary: The Bitter Mockery of Table Buffoons

Psalm 35 is a lament, likely from the period when David was fleeing from King Saul. In those years David enjoyed popular support and had been a loyal servant to Saul, but the king’s jealousy turned the court against him. David’s description of the enemies in verses 11, 16 matches the historical situation in 1 Samuel: false witnesses (1 Sam. 24:9), ingratitude for past kindness, and the gathering of “the abjects”, a Hebrew word that can mean “cripples” or “vile persons” (see Poole).

The phrase “profane mockers in feasts” reflects a specific cultural institution. At royal banquets and the tables of the wealthy, it was not unusual to have professional jesters or flatterers (Greek kolakes) who entertained with jokes and sarcastic commentary in exchange for food. The Hebrew la‛egei ma‛og, “mockers of a cake”, designates these parasites. They were neither friends nor allies; they mocked anyone who could provide their next meal. David’s enemies hired or gathered alongside such people to ridicule him publicly.

The feast setting adds a layer of betrayal. In ancient Israel, sharing a meal was a sign of covenant and friendship. David remembers how he had fasted and mourned when these same people were sick (vv. 13, 14). Now they feast while he suffers, and they use the festivity as an occasion for scorn. The gnashing of teeth, a gesture often associated with wild beasts (see Ps. 37:12; Lam. 2:16), reveals that the mockery was not mere jest but a prelude to violence. The contrast could not be sharper: feasting and devouring, celebration and rage. A reader from that culture would have understood immediately how low David’s enemies had sunk.

Early Christian interpreters saw in these verses a picture of the suffering Messiah. Adam Clarke specifically connects the “hypocritical mockers” to Herod’s treatment of Jesus, putting a purple robe on him, bowing in mock homage, and ridiculing him at a feast (cf. Luke 23:11). Whether read as David’s own story or as a prophecy of Christ, the verse captures the pain of being laughed at by people who owe you nothing and hate you without cause.

The consulted commentaries note no significant textual variants in Psalm 35:16. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the major English translations differ only in how they render the idiom la‛egei ma‛og (e.g., “mockers in feasts,” “jesting parasites,” “mockers for a cake”) rather than a textual dispute.

Early Christian writers, following the New Testament’s pattern of reading David’s psalms as pointing to Christ, saw this verse as a prophecy of the mockery Jesus endured. Augustine in his Enarrationes in Psalmos connected the gnashing teeth to the rage of the Jewish leaders at the trial. Medieval commentators like Peter Lombard reinforced this Christological reading, seeing the “profane mockers” as the soldiers who taunted Christ. The Geneva Bible (1560) notes the verse as a type of Christ’s humiliation. Adam Clarke, in the Methodist tradition, explicitly ties it to Herod’s mockery at a feast (Luke 23:11). In the Reformation, Calvin caution against allegorizing the psalm too quickly, but he still understood it as the prayer of the righteous servant, a posture later taken up by Christ. Modern interpreters, especially in evangelical and historical-critical circles, emphasize the cultural background of hired jesters while still noting the verse’s resonance with New Testament passion narratives. Lectionaries rarely assign this verse alone, but the whole psalm is read on occasions calling for lament and trust in God’s justice.

Three-point outline

1. The Bitter Irony of the Feast. What should be a place of joy becomes a stage for cruelty. David’s enemies turn celebration into persecution. Sermons can apply this to times when relationships that should be safe become sources of pain.
2. The Descent into Cheap Mockery. The enemies hire low-class jesters for bread. This shows how hatred degrades the hater: they stoop to hiring anyone who will join the ridicule. True strength does not need to borrow contempt from parasites.
3. The Gesture That Reveals the Heart. Gnashing teeth is a wordless cry of rage. It exposes the inner murder that the feast’s laughter masks. God sees past the performance to the malice within.

Five-point outline

1. Context: David’s past kindness to these people (vv. 13, 14).
2. Contrast: They feast while he fasts (implied by “feasts” vs. his earlier sackcloth).
3. Company: They surround themselves with hired mockers, people who laugh for money.
4. Cruelty: Gnashing teeth signals a desire to destroy, not just tease.
5. Christological reading: The Son of David endured the same mockery, yet did not gnash back.

Illustration hooks

• Lunchroom rejection. A student who once helped a classmate with homework finds that classmate now laughing with the popular crowd, pointing and whispering. The feeling of being betrayed for a place at the table.
• Office banter gone sour. A colleague who was promoted invites the team for drinks. Another worker, passed over, makes snide comments to curry favour with the new boss. The laughter is hollow, but the teeth show.

Questions your congregation is asking

• “Why do people who have no real grievance against me seem to enjoy my suffering?”
• “Is it wrong to feel angry when I am mocked, even if the mockers are unimportant people?”
• “How does Jesus’ experience of mockery help me when I am ridiculed for my faith or my character?”

This verse sits in a psalm that swings between raw complaint and confident hope. Before you read, recall times when you felt laughed at or dismissed by people you once trusted. David does not hide his pain, but he takes it to God. Use these questions to open the passage together.

Discussion questions

1. Read Psalm 35:11, 16. What do you learn about David’s relationship with these enemies before they turned on him? (Look especially at verses 13, 14.)
2. The Hebrew phrase “profane mockers in feasts” literally reads “mockers of a cake.” Why do you think David highlights that his enemies hired low-class jesters? What does that say about the nature of their hatred?
3. Gnashing teeth appears in Job 16:9, Psalm 37:12, and Lamentations 2:16. What does this action communicate about the inner state of the person doing it? How is it different from ordinary mockery?
4. Some Christians read this verse as a prophecy of Jesus being mocked by Herod’s soldiers (Luke 23:11). Does that connection help you understand the psalm differently? Why or why not?
5. David cries out “How long will you look on?” in verse 17. When have you felt that God was silent while others ridiculed you? How does the psalm model bringing that feeling into prayer?
6. The psalm ends with a vow to praise God in the great congregation (verse 18). What does that decision, to praise even while asking for rescue, teach us about faith in the middle of betrayal?
7. If someone in your group is experiencing mockery right now, what is one way you can support them without dismissing their pain or rushing to fix it?