Read
Psalm 80:6
You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
4LORD God of Armies, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure.
6You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
8You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
Notice
The words “You make us” direct the complaint toward God, while the neighbors’ contention and enemies’ laughter expose the public shame of his people.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What is hard to say to God when you begin with “You make us”?
Write on thisWhose experience of public mockery comes to mind as you read about these laughing enemies?
Write on thisHow does the plea in verse 7 shape your reading of this complaint?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 44:13You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.Both prayers address God as the one who has made his people objects of reproach or contention among their neighbors.
Psalm 79:4We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those who are around us.Both passages describe a community exposed to its neighbors’ hostility, with reproach and derision echoing the enemies’ laughter.
Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they ridiculed us and despised us, and said, “What is this …Nehemiah names people who ridicule his community, while Psalm 80 describes enemies laughing among themselves.
Psalm 89:42You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice.Both prayers attribute the enemies’ advantage to God, describing adversaries who laugh or rejoice.
Psalm 137:3For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”Both passages describe humiliation at hostile hands: enemies laugh in Psalm 80, and captors demand songs of joy in Psalm 137.
Ezekiel 36:4therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: The Lord GOD says to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, …Both texts describe disgrace among surrounding peoples, with Ezekiel naming Israel’s forsaken cities and land as objects of derision.
Isaiah 36:8Now therefore, please make a pledge to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on …The shared thread is hostile mockery: Isaiah records a taunt about finding riders for horses, while Psalm 80 names enemies’ laughter.
Isaiah 36:12–20But Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you, to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat their own …Both passages portray hostility toward a community; Rabshakeh speaks of degrading suffering, while the psalm names contention and laughter.
Jeremiah 15:10Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet …Both use contention to describe hostile relationships, though Jeremiah speaks as one cursed man and the psalm speaks for a people.
Judges 16:25When their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson, that he may entertain us.” They called for Samson out of the prison; and he performed before them. …Both passages show hostile people finding amusement at another’s expense, with Samson brought from prison to entertain a merry crowd.
Revelation 11:10Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who …Both passages describe shared hostile gladness: enemies laugh among themselves, and earth’s inhabitants exchange gifts in celebration over the two prophets.
Isaiah 37:23Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.Both concern hostile contempt, though Psalm 80 names laughter against the people and Isaiah names defiance against the Holy One of Israel.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. feeling distant from God.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Even this complaint belongs in prayer: God’s people speak to him about the humiliation they attribute to his hand. Their enemies laugh, and the prayer continues.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 80:6. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 80 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).