Again the psalmist expresses his despair, and sees himself as a worm (perhaps a maggot; see Exo 16.20). The figurative language of verse 6a must be clear to the readers; the psalmist is not stating a fact when he says he is not a man but only a worm. The psalmist is giving the view of others concerning himself. Therefore it may be better to translate “People say that I am like a worm, not like a man” or “People don’t call me a man; they call me a worm.” If the comparison with a worm gives the wrong idea, it may be necessary to add an attributive; for example, “worthless as a worm” or “miserable as a worm.”

In verse 6b men and the people are parallel and synonymous; they are not two different groups, but two ways of referring to the same people. He is the object of everyone’s scorn, for he claims to be a faithful servant of Yahweh, yet Yahweh does not answer his prayers.

Mock at me in verse 7a is the general term for deride, make fun of; and line b uses two verbal phrases that specify how people make fun of him.

In verse 7b the Hebrew is literally “they shoot out the lips” (see similar language in 35.21; Job 16.10), an expression of derision. As Anderson says, it is “obviously a gesture of scorn, although its exact nature is unknown.” Dahood has “they gape at me”; New English Bible is like Revised Standard Version; Weiser translates “open wide their mouths in derision”; New Jerusalem Bible “they curl their lips.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “they make faces at me” and Good News Translation “they stick out their tongues” are cultural equivalents.

Wag their heads is another gesture of derision (the verb used here in the Septuagint is the same one used in Mark 15.29). Languages do not appear to lack for terms for derision; for example, “to talk about someone with laughter” or “to pile words on someone’s head.” Some languages prefer expressions referring to facial or other body gestures; for example, “they shook their heads at them” or “they flapped their lips at them.”

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 .