'Reproach' in the Bible

So she conceived and gave birth to a son; and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace and humiliation.”

They said to them, “We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach (derision, ridicule) of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal (rolling) to this day.

When she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her.

Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace [of his taunting] from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God?”

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach [suffered] at the hand of Nabal and has kept His servant from [retaliating with] evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, proposing to take her as his wife.

It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. So offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left [in Judah].’”

O Lord, bend down Your ear and hear; Lord, open Your eyes and see; hear the [taunting] words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to taunt and defy the living God.

They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.”

So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunting by the [pagan] nations, our enemies?

He was hired for this reason, that I would be frightened and do as he said and sin, so that they would have [grounds to make] a malicious report in order to censure and disgrace me.

“If indeed you [braggarts] vaunt and magnify yourselves over meAnd prove my disgrace (humiliation) to me,

“I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go;My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

He does not slander with his tongue,Nor does evil to his neighbor,Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

Because of all my enemies I have become a reproach and disgrace,Especially to my neighbors,And an object of dread to my acquaintances;Those who see me on the street run from me.

“Save me from all my transgressions;Do not make me the scorn and reproach of the [self-righteous, arrogant] fool.

As a crushing of my bones [with a sword], my adversaries taunt me,While they say continually to me, “Where is your God?”

Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;Confusion and dishonor have covered my face.

For zeal for Your house has consumed me,And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor [how I am insulted];My adversaries are all before You [each one fully known].

Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick.I looked for sympathy, but there was none,And for comforters, but I found none.

Let those who attack my life be ashamed and consumed;Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

O God, how long will the adversary scoff?Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

He drove His enemies backward;He subjected them to lasting shame and dishonor.

We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.

All who pass along the road rob him;He has become the scorn of his neighbors.

Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];How I bear in my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,

My enemies taunt me all day long;Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.

I also have become a reproach and an object of taunting to others;When they see me, they shake their heads [in derision].

Take reproach and contempt away from me,For I observe Your testimonies.

Turn away my reproach which I dread,For Your ordinances are good.

So I will have an answer for the one who taunts me,For I trust [completely] in Your word [and its reliability].

Wounds and disgrace he will find,And his reproach (blame) will not be blotted out.

Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation,But sin is a disgrace to any people.

When the wicked man comes [to the depth of evil], contempt [of all that is pure and good] also comes,And with inner baseness (dishonor) comes outer shame (scorn).

He who assaults his father and chases away his motherIs a son who brings shame and disgrace.

And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear [and provide] our own clothes; only let us be called by your name; take away our shame [of being unmarried].”

He will swallow up death [and abolish it] for all time.And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,And He will take away the disgrace of His people from all the earth;For the Lord has spoken.

It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh [the commander], whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will avenge the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left.’”

Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to taunt and defy the living God.

“Listen to Me, you who know righteousness (right standing with God),The people in whose heart is My law and instruction;Do not fear the reproach and taunting of man,Nor be distressed at their reviling.

“Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame,And do not feel humiliated or ashamed, for you will not be disgraced.For you will forget the shame of your youth,And you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion;And instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion.Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited];Everlasting joy will be theirs.

To whom shall I (Jeremiah) speak and give warningThat they may hear?Behold, their ears are closed [absolutely deaf to God]And they cannot listen.Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reprimand and an object of scorn to them;They have no delight in it.

O Lord, You know and understand;Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me,take vengeance for me on my persecutors.Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor.

For whenever I speak, I must shout out;I shout violence and destruction,Because the word of the Lord has become to meA reprimand and a mockery and has brought me insult all day long.

And I will bring an everlasting disgrace on you and a perpetual humiliation (shame) which will not be forgotten.”

I will make them a focus of ridicule and disappointment [tossed back and forth] among all the kingdoms of the earth, a [notorious] disgrace, a byword, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with virulent disease; and I will make them a terror (warning) to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a horror, a hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them,

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My anger and My wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will become detested, an object of horror, a curse and a people scorned; and you will no longer see this place.”

Why do you [deliberately] provoke Me to anger with the works (idols) of your hands, burning sacrifices and incense to [make-believe] gods in the land of Egypt, where you [of your own accord] have come to live [as temporary residents], that you might be cut off and become a curse and a disgrace [an object of taunts] among all the nations of the earth?

And I will take the remnant of Judah who have decided to go into the land of Egypt to live there [instead of surrendering to the Chaldeans as directed], and they will all fall and die in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword or perish by famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by the sword or by famine; and they will become detestable, an object of horror, a curse, and a disgrace.

For I have sworn [an oath] by Myself,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin, and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.”

We are perplexed and ashamed, for we have heard reproach;Disgrace has covered our faces,For foreigners [from Babylon] have comeInto the [most] sacred parts of the sanctuary of the Lord [even those places forbidden to all but the appointed priest].

Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him;Let him be filled with reproach.

You have heard their reproach, O Lord,And all their schemes against me.

O Lord, remember what has come upon us;Look, and see our reproach (national disgrace)!

Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a disgrace among the nations which surround you and in the sight of all who pass by.

So it will be a disgrace, a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the [pagan] nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in raging reprimands—I, the Lord, have spoken.

before your [own] wickedness was uncovered. Now you have become an object of reproach and a byword for the daughters of Aram and of Edom and all who are around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you.

“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach (disgrace),’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter; it is sharpened and polished to put an end [to everything], and to flash like lightning,

You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols which you have made. Thus you have caused your day [of judgment and punishment] to approach and have arrived at [the completion of] your years; therefore, I have made you an object of scorn to the [pagan] nations and a thing to be mocked by all countries.

I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer.

Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) and in My wrath because you have endured the [shameful] insults of the nations.’

Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I have lifted up My hand and sworn [an oath] that the nations that are around you will themselves endure their [shameful] insults.

I will not let you hear insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble [through idolatry] any longer,” says the Lord God.’”

I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not suffer again the disgrace of famine among the nations.

O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous and just acts, please let Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the wickedness of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of scorn and a contemptuous byword to all who are around us.

Ephraim has provoked most bitter anger;So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him [invoking punishment]And bring back to him his shame and dishonor.

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord,Weep between the porch and the altar,And let them say, “Have compassion and spare Your people, O Lord,And do not make Your inheritance (Israel) an object of ridicule,Or a [humiliating] byword among the [Gentile] nations.Why should they say among the peoples,‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord will answer and say to His people,“Behold, I am going to send you grain and new wine and oil,And you will be satisfied in full with them;And I will never again make you an object of ridicule among the [Gentile] nations.

“For [you have kept] the statutes of Omri [the idolatrous king],And all the works of the [wicked] house (dynasty) of Ahab;And you walk in their counsels and policies.Therefore, I shall hand you over for destruction and horrorAnd your [city’s] inhabitants for ridicule,And you shall bear the rebuke and scorn of My people.”

“I will gather those [Israelites in captivity] who grieve about the appointed feasts—They came from you, [O Zion];On whom the reproach [of exile] is a burden.