1 To the chief music-maker on Aijeleth-hash-shahar. A Psalm. Of David. My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my crying? 2 O my God, I make my cry in the day, and you give no answer; and in the night, and have no rest. 3 But you are holy, O you who are seated among the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers had faith in you: they had faith and you were their saviour. 5 They sent up their cry to you and were made free: they put their faith in you and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm and not a man; cursed by men, and looked down on by the people. 7 I am laughed at by all those who see me: pushing out their lips and shaking their heads they say, 8 He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him. 9 But it was you who took care of me from the day of my birth: you gave me faith even from my mother's breasts. 10 I was in your hands even before my birth; you are my God from the time when I was in my mother's body. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; there is no one to give help. 12 A great herd of oxen is round me: I am shut in by the strong oxen of Bashan. 13 I saw their mouths wide open, like lions crying after food. 14 I am flowing away like water, and all my bones are out of place: my heart is like wax, it has become soft in my body. 15 My throat is dry like a broken vessel; my tongue is fixed to the roof of my mouth, and the dust of death is on my lips. 16◆ Dogs have come round me: I am shut in by the band of evil-doers; they made wounds in my hands and feet. 17 I am able to see all my bones; their looks are fixed on me: 18 They make a division of my robes among them, by the decision of chance they take my clothing. 19 Do not be far from me, O Lord: O my strength, come quickly to my help. 20 Make my soul safe from the sword, my life from the power of the dog. 21 Be my saviour from the lion's mouth; let me go free from the horns of the cruel oxen. 22 I will give the knowledge of your name to my brothers: I will give you praise among the people. 23 You who have fear of the Lord, give him praise; all you seed of Jacob, give him glory; go in fear of him, all you seed of Israel. 24 For he has not been unmoved by the pain of him who is troubled; or kept his face covered from him; but he has given an answer to his cry. 25 My praise will be of you in the great meeting: I will make my offerings before his worshippers. 26 The poor will have a feast of good things: those who make search for the Lord will give him praise: your heart will have life for ever. 27 All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord's; he is the ruler among the nations. 29 All the fat ones of the earth will give him worship; all those who go down to the dust will make themselves low before him, even he who has not enough for the life of his soul. 30 A seed will be his servant; the doings of the Lord will be made clear to the generation which comes after. 31 They will come and make his righteousness clear to a people of the future because he has done this.
Psalms · Bible in Basic English
Psalm 22 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
Cross references (31)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46; Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 22:16; Job 3:24
- 2 Psalm 42:3; Luke 18:7; Psalm 55:16–17; Luke 22:41–46; Psalm 88:1
- 3 Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalm 50:23; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; Psalm 99:9
- 4 Exodus 14:31; Exodus 14:13–14; Genesis 32:28; Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:18–22
- 5 Romans 10:11; Isaiah 49:23; 1 Peter 2:6; Romans 9:33; Isaiah 45:17
- 6 Isaiah 53:3; Job 25:6; Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 49:7; Psalm 69:7–12
- 7 Mark 15:29; Matthew 27:39–40; Psalm 109:25; Luke 23:11; Mark 15:20
- 8 Matthew 27:42–43; Mark 15:30–32; Psalm 91:14; Psalm 18:19; Proverbs 16:3
- 9 Psalm 71:6; Isaiah 49:1–2; Psalm 71:17; Psalm 139:15–16; Matthew 2:13–15
- 10 Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15; Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 46:3–4; John 20:17
- 11 Psalm 71:12; Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 72:12; Psalm 10:1; John 16:32
- 12 Amos 4:1–3; Acts 4:27; Psalm 68:30; Matthew 27:1; Deuteronomy 32:14–15
- 13 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 35:21; Psalm 17:12; Lamentations 3:46; Job 16:10
- 14 Psalm 31:10; Job 30:16; Psalm 22:17; Daniel 5:6; Job 23:16
- 15 John 19:28; Psalm 69:3; Psalm 69:21; Isaiah 53:12; Psalm 104:29
- 16 John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 27:35; John 20:25; John 19:23
- 17 Luke 23:35; Job 33:21; Matthew 27:39–41; Isaiah 52:14; Luke 23:27
- 18 Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; Mark 15:24; John 19:23–24
- 19 Psalm 22:11; Psalm 40:13; Psalm 40:17; Psalm 10:1; Psalm 21:1
- 20 Psalm 35:17; Zechariah 13:7; Psalm 17:13
- 21 2 Timothy 4:17; 1 Peter 5:8; Acts 4:27; John 14:30; Numbers 23:22
- 22 Hebrews 2:11–12; Romans 8:29; Matthew 12:48–49; Matthew 28:10; Psalm 40:9–10
- 23 Revelation 15:4; Psalm 135:19–20; Psalm 107:1–2; Luke 1:50; Psalm 115:11
- 24 Hebrews 5:7; Isaiah 50:6–9; Psalm 118:5; Psalm 116:3–6; Luke 23:46
- 25 Psalm 40:9–10; Psalm 35:18; Psalm 111:1; Psalm 116:14–19; Psalm 66:13
- 26 Psalm 69:32; Psalm 40:16; Isaiah 65:13; Psalm 105:3–4; John 6:48–58
- 27 Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 45:22; Revelation 7:9–12; Psalm 2:8; Isaiah 49:6
- 28 Zechariah 14:9; Psalm 47:7–8; Daniel 7:14; Revelation 11:15; Obadiah 21
- 29 Philippians 2:10; Isaiah 26:19; John 11:25–26; Psalm 45:12; Psalm 113:7
- 30 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 2:13; Psalm 102:28; Galatians 3:26–29; Psalm 87:6
- 31 Psalm 78:6; Psalm 86:9; Romans 1:17; Psalm 102:18; Isaiah 44:3–5
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
Why does my Bible say something different?
- Psalm 22:16: “they pierced” or “like a lion”?
Most Hebrew manuscripts of Psalm 22:16 (22:17 in Hebrew) read ka’ari, “like a lion, my hands and my feet,” a line with no verb. The Greek Septuagint reads “they dug my hands and my feet,” which Christian Bibles have long rendered “pierced.” A Psalms fragment from the Judean desert has a different spelling that may be a verb. What the original Hebrew said is honestly debated.
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
All that see Me have derided Me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him." Ye see, beloved, what is the example which has been given us; for if the Lord thus humbled Himself, what shall we do who …
They now ask of me judgment, and dare to draw near to God." And again in other words, through another prophet, He says, "They pierced My hands and My feet, and for My vesture they cast lots." And indeed David, the king and prophet, who uttered these things, suffered none of them; but Jesus Christ stretched forth His hands, being …
… friends and those nearest to Him; and that He should stretch forth His hands the whole day long; and that He should be mocked and maligned by those who looked upon Him; and that His garments should be parted, and lots cast upon His raiment; and that He should be brought down to the dust of death with all [the …
or how shall they believe without a preacher?" And those who seek the Lord shall praise Him. For those who seek shall find Him, and those who find Him shall praise Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord, and against His anointed." And elsewhere he mentions also the image of the cross, saying on this wise, "They pierced my hand and my feet," and those things which the soldiers were emboldened to do, he adds with all exactness, "For they parted my …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)