Psalms 40:15
in Psalms 40May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let them be desolate by reason of their shame That say unto me, Aha, aha.
KJV
Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 40
Commentary
11 notes on this verseLet them be desolate, or amazed; even as Jesus was desolate in his agony, so let his enemies be in their despair when he defeats them. The desolation caused in the hearts of evil spirits and evil men by envy, malice, chagrin, disappointment, and despair, shall be a fit recompense for their cruelty to the Lord when he was in their hands. For a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha. Did the foul fiend insult over our Lord? Behold how shame is now his reward!
This site's exposition
who seek my life
on Psalms 40:14-15
The prayer asks shame and confusion on those who seek his life and wish him harm. The mockers who say Aha, aha are to be appalled at their own shame. The man lifted out of the pit asks it.
This site's exposition
be appalled at their own shame
The same cry, Aha, aha, is raised against the psalmist in Psalm 35:21, as Adam Clarke noted. Augustine's text read the cry as well done, well done, and he applied it to flatterers who praise a Christian's virtues and scorn his faith. John Gill heard the mockers at the cross.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Let them speedily bear away their own confusion, that say unto me, Well done! Well done!" [Psalm 40:15]. They praise you without reason. "A great man! A good man! A man of education and of learning; but why a Christian?" They praise those things in you which you should wish not to be praised; they find fault with that at which you rejoice. But if perhaps you say, "What is it you praise in me, O man? That I am a virtuous man? A just man? If you think this, Christ made me this; praise Him." But the other says, "Be it far from you. Do yourself no wrong! You yourself made yourself such." "Let them be confounded who say unto me, Well done! Well done!" And what follows?
The Medieval Church1 voice
Against three enemies he asks for swiftness, because delay is usually harmful: Eccl. 8: "Because sentence against evil works is not quickly pronounced, the sons of men commit evil without any fear." And therefore he says, "Let them speedily bear their confusion," that is, let …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Both the conversion of a sinner and the glorification of a saint are great disappointments to Satan, who does his utmost, with all his power and subtlety, to hinder both. Now, our Lord Jesus having undertaken to bring about the salvation of all his chosen, we may in faith pray that, in both these ways, that great adversary may be confounded.
Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame,.... Of their shameful wishes, words, and actions, as they were: their habitations in Jerusalem were desolate, and so was their house or temple there, and their whole land, and they themselves were stripped of everything, when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed; see Mat 23:38, Act 1:20; that say unto me, Aha, aha; words expressive of joy, Psa 35:21, exulting at his miseries and sufferings on the cross, Mat 27:39; so the Targum, "we have rejoiced at his destruction, with joy at his affliction.''
If, in singing this psalm, we mix faith with the prophecy of Christ, and join in sincerity with the praises and prayers here offered up, we make melody wit our hearts to the Lord.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Let them be desolate, or amazed; even as Jesus was desolate in his agony, so let his enemies be in their despair when he defeats them. The desolation caused in the hearts of evil spirits and evil men by envy, malice, chagrin, disappointment, and despair, shall be a fit recompense for their cruelty to the Lord when he was in their hands. For a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha. Did the foul fiend insult over our Lord? Behold how shame is now his reward! Do wicked men today pour shame upon the name of the Redeemer? Their desolation shall avenge him of his adversaries! Jesus is the gentle Lamb to all who seek mercy through his blood; but let despisers beware, for he is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and "who shall rouse him up?" The Jewish rulers exulted and scornfully said, "Aha, aha; "but when the streets of Jerusalem ran like rivers deep with gore, "and the temple was utterly consumed, "then their house was left unto them desolate, and the blood of the last of the prophets, according to their own desire, came upon themselves and upon their children. O ungodly reader, if such a person glance over this page, beware of persecuting Christ and his people, for God will surely avenge his own elect. Your "ahas" will cost you dear. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.
That say unto me, Aha, aha - האח האח. See on Psa 35:21 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let them be desolate - The word here employed means to be astonished or amazed; then, to be laid waste, or made desolate. As used here, it refers to their purposes, and the wish or prayer is that they might be wholly unsuccessful, or that in respect to success they might be like a waste and desolate field where nothing grows. For a reward - The word used here - עקב ‛êqeb - means the end, the last of anything; then, the recompence, reward, wages, as being the end, the result, or issue of a certain course of conduct. That is, in this case, the desolation prayed for would be a proper recompence for their purpose, or for what they said. “Of their shame.” Of their shameful act or purpose; their act as deserving of ignominy. That say unto me, Aha, aha - That use language of reproach and contempt. This is a term of exultation over another; a word of rejoicing at the calamities that come on another; an act of joy over a fallen enemy: Eze 25:3; see Psa 35:21, note; Psa 35:25, note. As understood of the Messiah, this would refer to the taunts and reproaches of his enemies; the exultation which they manifested when they had him in their power - when they felt secure that their vexations in regard to him were at an end, or that they would be troubled with him no more. By putting him to death they supposed that they might feel safe from further molestation on his account. For this act, this note of exultation and joy, on the part of the Jewish rulers, and of the people as stimulated by those rulers, the desolation which came upon them (the utter ruin of their temple, their city, and their nation) was an appropriate reward. That desolation did not go beyond their desert, for their treatment of the Messiah - as the ruin of the sinner in the future world will not go beyond his desert for having rejected the same Messiah as his Saviour.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָ֭שֹׁמּוּ | yashomu | may they be appalled | H8074 → | 86 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֵ֣קֶב | ʾekev | [the] consequence of | H6118 → | 15 times |
| בָּשְׁתָּ֑ם | bashetam | shame their | H1322 → | 30 times |
| הָאֹמְרִ֥ים | haomerim | those [who] say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִ֝֗י | li | to me | ||
| הֶ֘אָ֥ח׀ | heach | aha! | H1889 → | 12 times |
| הֶאָֽח׃ | heach | aha! | H1889 → | 12 times |
יָ֭שֹׁמּוּmay they be appalled
yashomuH8074 →86 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עֵ֣קֶב[the] consequence of
ʾekevH6118 →15 times
בָּשְׁתָּ֑םshame their
bashetamH1322 →30 times
הָאֹמְרִ֥יםthose [who] say
haomerimH559 →5305 times
לִ֝֗יto me
li
הֶ֘אָ֥ח׀aha!
heachH1889 →12 times
הֶאָֽח׃aha!
heachH1889 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
it leads to
- Luke 11:53–54
As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
- Psalms 22:13
They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
- Psalms 70:3
May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.
- Psalms 54:7
For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have stared down my foes.
- Luke 11:53–54
Through
Psalms 35:25Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
it leads to
- 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…
- Psalms 124:3
when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive,
- Matthew 27:43
He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Lamentations 2:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms

This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 40; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.
