1 Unto the end. For the tasks of early morning. A Psalm of David. 2 O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses. 3 My God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for me. 4 But you dwell in holiness, O Praise of Israel. 5 In you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed them. 6 They cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confounded. 7 But I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the people. 8 All those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the head. 9 He has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses him. 10 For you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my mother. 11 I have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my God. 12 Do not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help me. 13 Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged me. 14 They have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaring. 15 And so, I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered. My heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my chest. 16 My strength has dried up like clay, and my tongue has adhered to my jaws. And you have pulled me down, into the dust of death. 17◆ For many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 18 They have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at me. 19 They divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lots. 20 But you, O Lord, do not take your help far from me; be attentive to my defense. 21 O God, rescue my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dog. 22 Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horns of the single-horned beast. 23 I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the Church, I will praise you. 24 You who fear the Lord, praise him. All the offspring of Jacob, glorify him. 25 May all the offspring of Israel fear him. For he has neither spurned nor despised the pleas of the poor. Neither has he turned his face away from me. And when I cried out to him, he heeded me. 26 My praise is with you, within a great church. I will pay my vows in the sight of those who fear him. 27 The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who yearn for the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will live forever and ever. 28 All the ends of the earth will remember, and they will be converted to the Lord. And all the families of the Gentiles will adore in his sight. 29 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the Gentiles. 30 All the fat of the earth have gnashed their teeth, and they have adored. In his sight, they will fall down, all those who descend to the ground. 31 And my soul will live for him, and my offspring will serve him. 32 There will be announced for the Lord a future generation, and the heavens will announce his justice to a people who will be born, whom the Lord has made.
Psalms · Catholic Public Domain Version
Psalm 21 (22) Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · Psalm 22 · About the recordings
Notes on this text (4)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
- Psalms follow the Greek/Latin numbering, with the psalm titles counted as verse 1 (as in the Vulgate).
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
Cross references (32)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info. References use English (Hebrew-based) verse numbers; links open the passage in CPDV.
- 1 Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46; Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 22:16; Job 3:24
- 2 Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46; Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 22:16; Job 3:24
- 3 Psalm 42:3; Luke 18:7; Psalm 55:16–17; Luke 22:41–46; Psalm 88:1
- 4 Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalm 50:23; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; Psalm 99:9
- 5 Exodus 14:31; Exodus 14:13–14; Genesis 32:28; Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:18–22
- 6 Romans 10:11; Isaiah 49:23; 1 Peter 2:6; Romans 9:33; Isaiah 45:17
- 7 Isaiah 53:3; Job 25:6; Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 49:7; Psalm 69:7–12
- 8 Mark 15:29; Matthew 27:39–40; Psalm 109:25; Luke 23:11; Mark 15:20
- 9 Matthew 27:42–43; Mark 15:30–32; Psalm 91:14; Psalm 18:19; Proverbs 16:3
- 10 Psalm 71:6; Isaiah 49:1–2; Psalm 71:17; Psalm 139:15–16; Matthew 2:13–15
- 11 Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15; Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 46:3–4; John 20:17
- 12 Psalm 71:12; Hebrews 5:7; Psalm 72:12; Psalm 10:1; John 16:32
- 13 Amos 4:1–3; Acts 4:27; Psalm 68:30; Matthew 27:1; Deuteronomy 32:14–15
- 14 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 35:21; Psalm 17:12; Lamentations 3:46; Job 16:10
- 15 Psalm 31:10; Job 30:16; Psalm 22:17; Daniel 5:6; Job 23:16
- 16 John 19:28; Psalm 69:3; Psalm 69:21; Isaiah 53:12; Psalm 104:29
- 17 John 19:37; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 27:35; John 20:25; John 19:23
- 18 Luke 23:35; Job 33:21; Matthew 27:39–41; Isaiah 52:14; Luke 23:27
- 19 Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; Mark 15:24; John 19:23–24
- 20 Psalm 22:11; Psalm 40:13; Psalm 40:17; Psalm 10:1; Psalm 21:1
- 21 Psalm 35:17; Zechariah 13:7; Psalm 17:13
- 22 2 Timothy 4:17; 1 Peter 5:8; Acts 4:27; John 14:30; Numbers 23:22
- 23 Hebrews 2:11–12; Romans 8:29; Matthew 12:48–49; Matthew 28:10; Psalm 40:9–10
- 24 Revelation 15:4; Psalm 135:19–20; Psalm 107:1–2; Luke 1:50; Psalm 115:11
- 25 Hebrews 5:7; Isaiah 50:6–9; Psalm 118:5; Psalm 116:3–6; Luke 23:46
- 26 Psalm 40:9–10; Psalm 35:18; Psalm 111:1; Psalm 116:14–19; Psalm 66:13
- 27 Psalm 69:32; Psalm 40:16; Isaiah 65:13; Psalm 105:3–4; John 6:48–58
- 28 Psalm 86:9; Isaiah 45:22; Revelation 7:9–12; Psalm 2:8; Isaiah 49:6
- 29 Zechariah 14:9; Psalm 47:7–8; Daniel 7:14; Revelation 11:15; Obadiah 21
- 30 Philippians 2:10; Isaiah 26:19; John 11:25–26; Psalm 45:12; Psalm 113:7
- 31 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 2:13; Psalm 102:28; Galatians 3:26–29; Psalm 87:6
- 32 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). Verse numbers below follow the Hebrew/English numbering: 22.
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)