Psalm 69:10-12
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The phrase "chastened my soul with fasting" isn't just about a physical act of abstaining from food; it reveals David's deep emotional investment. He wasn't just doing a religious duty; he was pouring out his very being before God, a profound act of self-humiliation and grief for the state of things, only to have this intensely personal sorrow twisted into ridicule by others.
When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Psalmist is lamenting deep distress, detailing how his sincere expressions of grief and self-humbling through fasting, meant to honor God, were twisted by his enemies into mockery and scorn. These neighbors, including those in positions of authority and common revelers, derided his piety, making him a proverb and a song among them instead of finding him a model of devotion.
We often think of religious practices as just 'things we do.' But what if the deepest expressions of our faith are meant to reveal profound internal struggles?
A Deeply Personal Act
In Psalm 69, the psalmist describes his intense sorrow. He didn't just feel sad; he wept. And to deepen that expression of grief and repentance, he fasted. The original language suggests this wasn't a light or casual act, but a profound 'weeping away' of his very soul in sorrow.
This wasn't about following a religious regulation. It was a raw, visceral response to his own sin, or perhaps the sin of his people and the reproach it brought upon God. Fasting was a physical manifestation of an overwhelming internal reality.
More Than Just Abstinence
Imagine pouring your heart out to God, expressing your deepest sorrow, only to have people mock you for it. That’s the painful reality here.
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The World's Reaction to Faith
This verse reveals a painful truth: when we earnestly pursue God and express our devotion, especially through acts of repentance and sorrow, the world doesn't always respond with understanding or respect. Instead, the psalmist found his sincere acts of piety turned into a source of ridicule.
The Reproach of Righteousness
Understand the original words
anah · Hebrew Verb
To bring oneself low in submission to God; it involves self-denial and the recognition of one's dependence on the Almighty, often accompanied by grief or repentance.
tsom · Hebrew Noun
A spiritual discipline of abstaining from food to focus entirely on prayer, repentance, or seeking God's intervention, expressing total reliance on Him.
saq · Hebrew Noun
A coarse, dark fabric, usually made of goat's hair, worn as a sign of extreme mourning, repentance, or distress. It signifies humility before God and the casting aside of worldly pride.
mashal · Hebrew Noun
A proverb, object of scorn, or a target of mocking ridicule. Being a byword signifies a loss of social standing and becoming an example of misfortune or divine judgment in the eyes of others.
sha'ar · Hebrew Noun
In biblical culture, the city gate was the center of social, legal, and commercial activity, where elders sat to judge and leaders gathered. Being the talk of those here implies public condemnation or gossip from the social elite.
The specific historical setting of Psalm 69 is likely David's own tumultuous reign, where his deep devotion and acts of repentance like fasting were met with mockery rather than understanding. This reflects a recurring theme in Israel's history where faithfulness often brings suffering and reproach.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
David's Reign and Troubles
King David, the psalmist, faces intense opposition, betrayal, and deep personal anguish, likely from within his own court or family, and also from ongoing external threats.
c. 970 BC
Death of David
David's death marks the end of an era, leaving a complex legacy and a kingdom with internal tensions, providing further context for the enduring relevance of his laments.
c. 722 BC
Fall of the Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel serves as a stark reminder of divine judgment and the consequences of unfaithfulness, a backdrop against which later psalmists would reflect on suffering and repentance.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Babylonian Exile
The destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of Judah to Babylon represent a national catastrophe, intensifying themes of sorrow, repentance, and longing for God's restoration found in the Psalms.
This passage describes Jesus fasting for forty days and nights, experiencing hunger, which connects to the Psalmist's act of humbling himself with fasting.
Matthew 6:16Jesus warns against fasting for show, highlighting that outward acts of piety like fasting can be misunderstood or even mocked if not done with a sincere heart, mirroring the reproach the Psalmist faced.
Isaiah 58:3The prophet Isaiah critiques people who fast but continue their wicked ways, showing that the sincerity of fasting and repentance is what matters, and implying that those who fast for show may indeed face reproach, just as the Psalmist did.
Romans 15:3This verse speaks of Christ not pleasing Himself, but enduring the reproaches of those who opposed Him. This directly parallels the Psalmist's experience of suffering reproach for his devotion, and is a key fulfillment in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:20Paul describes how he allows others to enslave him, devour him, and treat him with contempt. This reflects the broader theme of godly individuals facing mockery and hardship from those who oppose them, even for acts of devotion.
pulpitPsalms 69:10: "When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach."
Verse 10. - When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. David's practice of fasting appears both here and also in Psalm 35:13; Psalm 109:24; 2 Kings 12:16, 22. As fasting was not enjoined by the Law, he might be reproached for over-righteousness, and perhaps also for ostentation, on account of it.
jfbPsalms 69:10: "When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach."
- wept (and chastened) my soul—literally, "wept away my soul," a strongly figurative description of deep grief.
The phrase "chastened my soul with fasting" isn't just about a physical act of abstaining from food; it reveals David's deep emotional investment. He wasn't just doing a religious duty; he was pouring out his very being before God, a profound act of self-humiliation and grief for the state of things, only to have this intensely personal sorrow twisted into ridicule by others.
The Psalmist is lamenting deep distress, detailing how his sincere expressions of grief and self-humbling through fasting, meant to honor God, were twisted by his enemies into mockery and scorn. These neighbors, including those in positions of authority and common revelers, derided his piety, making him a proverb and a song among them instead of finding him a model of devotion.
The Psalmist is lamenting deep distress, detailing how his sincere expressions of grief and self-humbling through fasting, meant to honor God, were twisted by his enemies into mockery and scorn. These neighbors, including those in positions of authority and common revelers, derided his piety, making him a proverb and a song among them instead of finding him a model of devotion.
"When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me." — The phrase "chastened my soul with fasting" isn't just about a physical act of abstaining from food; it reveals David's deep emotional investment. He wasn't just doing a religious duty; he was pour…
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Last reviewed October 2026
