In strong, bitter language, the psalmist describes his situation, which is well known to God. Words are used that have already appeared in this psalm: reproach (verses 7a, 10b); shame (verse 7b); dishonor (verse 6d); Insults (verse 9b). But God knows who all his enemies are; he keeps his eye on them (verse 19c; literally “are in front of you”).
The figure of a broken … heart has already been encountered in 51.17b; there it expresses contrition and repentance. Here, however, it means that the psalmist has been deeply offended and hurt by the insults his enemies hurl at him. Insults have broken my heart may have to be recast in translation so that two events are depicted. For example, “my enemies insulted me and my head is lowered” or “my enemies have said bad things about me and my heart sits heavy in me.”
I am in despair (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) translates a word found nowhere else in the Old Testament; as used in the Masoretic text, it is of uncertain form and meaning. K-B suggests an adjective, “incurable, desperate.” Briggs takes it to be a form of the verb “to be in poor health” (used in 2 Sam 12.15). New Jerusalem Bible has a vivid translation, “Insult has broken my heart past cure.”
The word translated pity describes a shaking of the head from side to side as an expression of condolence, of fellow feeling; no human sympathy, no comfort, for the psalmist! I looked for pity in some languages can be rendered idiomatically; for example, “I wanted someone to show me their warm insides.” Comforters may be rendered as “people who can encourage me” or, idiomatically, “people who can cause my heart to be strong.”
It is impossible to decide whether verse 21 is meant literally or figuratively; it probably is the latter, for had the psalmist swallowed poison, he would hardly have survived. The word poison translates “bitter” (so “gall” in some translations, which is also the Greek word in the Septuagint that is used in Matt 27.34). If the sense of poison is not to be taken literally but figuratively, as suggested above, the translator should avoid using a word for poison which would mean certain death if eaten. It may be best to translate in such a way as to leave no doubt that the psalmist did not undergo a test by eating poison, as is used in some cultures to establish innocence. For example, “They gave me food that tasted as bad as poison” or “The food they gave me to eat tasted like bitter poison.” Food occurs only once more, in Lamentations 4.10; it is specifically the meal brought to a mourner by sympathetic friends. Vinegar represents a word whose meaning is probably closer to “cheap, sour wine” (as a drink) than to vinegar (as a condiment). But some take it to be vinegar as such, which the psalmist’s enemies poured into his drink to make him even thirstier. In languages where vinegar is unknown, it is often possible to say “a sour drink.”
The language of verse 21, as translated in the Septuagint, is reflected in the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion: see Matthew 27.34, 48; Mark 15.36; Luke 23.36; John 19.29.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .