Psalm 69:21 says that the sufferer's enemies gave him gall for food and vinegar to drink in his thirst. The verse combines hostility with a cruel response to basic human need.

Matthew 27:34 records Jesus being offered wine mixed with gall before the crucifixion, while verse 48 later describes sour wine being given to Him. John 19:28-30 also records Jesus receiving sour wine after saying, "I thirst." The Gospel passion accounts therefore echo Psalm 69:21 closely, and John explicitly frames the thirst episode in terms of Scripture being fulfilled. The psalm's image of the persecuted righteous sufferer becomes a concrete feature of Jesus' suffering at Calvary.