The Meaning of Psalms 69:8 Explained

Psalms 69:8

KJV: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

YLT: A stranger I have been to my brother, And a foreigner to sons of my mother.

Darby: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's sons;

ASV: I am become a stranger unto my brethren, And an alien unto my mother's children.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I am become a stranger  unto my brethren,  and an alien  unto my mother's  children. 

What does Psalms 69:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Very few people sided with David. Even his closest relatives had turned against him.

Context Summary

Psalm 69:1-17 - A Cry Out Of Deep Waters
This psalm and the Psalms 22:1-31 are quoted most often in the New Testament as referring to our Lord. Psalms 69:1-36 is very sad. Throughout we detect a heart-break. There are many grounds on which the sufferer bases his plea for salvation. First, his imminent danger from inrushing waters and the deep mire like that in which Jeremiah sank. There are also failing strength, the dried throat, and the drooping eyes. Mighty foes, too, who hate wrongfully, are plotting his ruin. The consciousness of sin and the dread that others may be made ashamed through his failure, are also bitter ingredients in his cup. And in addition he bore the reproach of those who hated God. What a combination of misery! In some, though not in all, of these sources of grief, our Savior had a share, and therefore He can be a sympathizing High Priest.
But out of his misery the psalmist builds his altar of prayer. His plea is in God's loving-kindness and tender mercies. Here is the master-argument with God. He can do no other than redeem the soul that clings to Him with such unfaltering faith. It reminds us of the olden resolve, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," Job 13:15, and also recalls the persistence of the Syrophenician woman, Mark 7:26. Such souls need not fear that they can be cast away. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 69

1  David complains of his affliction
13  He prays for deliverance
22  He devotes his enemies to destruction
30  He praises God with thanksgiving

What do the individual words in Psalms 69:8 mean?

A stranger I have become to my brothers and a sojourner to children of my mother
מ֭וּזָר הָיִ֣יתִי לְאֶחָ֑י וְ֝נָכְרִ֗י לִבְנֵ֥י אִמִּֽי

מ֭וּזָר  A  stranger 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: זוּר 
Sense: to be strange, be a stranger.
הָיִ֣יתִי  I  have  become 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְאֶחָ֑י  to  my  brothers 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
וְ֝נָכְרִ֗י  and  a  sojourner 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: נָכְרִי  
Sense: foreign, alien.
לִבְנֵ֥י  to  children 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אִמִּֽי  of  my  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.