1 For the chief musician; set to “The rhythm of the deer.” A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from saving me and far from the words of my anguish? 2 My God, I cry out in the daytime, but you do not answer, and at night I am not silent! 3 Yet you are holy; you sit as king with the praises of Israel. 4 Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted in you, and you rescued them. 5 They cried to you and they were rescued. They trusted in you and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, a disgrace to humanity and despised by the people. 7 All those who see me taunt me; they mock me; they shake their heads at me. 8 They say, “He trusts in Yahweh; let Yahweh rescue him. Let him rescue him, for he delights in him.” 9 For you brought me from the womb; you made me trust you when I was on my mother's breasts. 10 I have been thrown on you from the womb; you are my God since I was in my mother's womb! 11 Do not be far away from me, for trouble is near; there is no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me. 13 They open their mouths wide against me like a roaring lion ripping its victim. 14 I am being poured out like water, and all my bones are dislocated. My heart is like wax; it melts away within my inner parts. 15 My strength has dried up like a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust of death. 16◆ For dogs have surrounded me; a company of evildoers has encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. 18 They divide my garments among themselves, they cast lots for my clothes. 19 Do not be far away, Yahweh; please hurry to help me, my strength! 20 Rescue my soul from the sword, my only life from the claws of wild dogs. 21 Save me from the lion's mouth; rescue me from the horns of the wild oxen. 22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. 23 You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the suffering of the afflicted one; Yahweh has not hidden his face from him; when the afflicted one cried to him, he heard. 25 My praise will be because of you in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. 26 The oppressed will eat and be satisfied; those who seek Yahweh will praise him. May your hearts live forever. 27 All the peoples of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh; all the families of the nations will bow down before you. 28 For the kingdom is Yahweh's; he is the ruler over the nations. 29 All the prosperous people of the earth will feast and will worship; all those who are descending into the dust will bow before him, those who cannot preserve their own lives. 30 A generation to come will serve him; they will tell the next generation of the Lord. 31 They will come and tell of his righteousness; they will tell to a people not yet born what he has done!
Psalms · Unlocked Literal Bible
Psalm 22 Unlocked Literal Bible
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)