Psalm 22-26

New King James Version

The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah

To the Chief Musician. Set to ^[a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

22 My ^(A)God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
²O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

³But You are holy,
Enthroned in the ^(B)praises of Israel.
⁴Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
⁵They cried to You, and were delivered;
^(C)They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

⁶But I am ^(D)a worm, and no man;
^(E)A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
⁷^(F)All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They ^[b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
⁸“He^(G) ^[c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
^(H)Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

⁹^(I)But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
¹⁰I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
^(J)You have been My God.
¹¹Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.

¹²^(K)Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of ^(L)Bashan have encircled Me.
¹³^(M)They ^[d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,
^(N)And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted ^[e]within Me.
¹⁵^(O)My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And ^(P)My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
^(Q)They^[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
¹⁷I can count all My bones.
^(R)They look and stare at Me.
¹⁸^(S)They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
²⁰Deliver Me from the sword,
^(T)My^[g] precious life from the power of the dog.
²¹^(U)Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!

^(V)You have answered Me.

²²^(W)I will declare Your name to ^(X)My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
²³^(Y)You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you ^[h]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But ^(Z)when He cried to Him, He heard.

²⁵^(AA)My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
^(AB)I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
²⁶The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the ^[i]nations
Shall worship before ^[j]You.
²⁸^(AC)For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.

²⁹^(AD)All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
^(AE)All those who go down to ^[k]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

³⁰A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
³¹They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is ^(AF)my shepherd;
^(AG)I shall not ^[l]want.
²^(AH)He makes me to lie down in ^[m]green pastures;
^(AI)He leads me beside the ^[n]still waters.
³He restores my soul;
^(AJ)He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of ^(AK)the shadow of death,
^(AL)I will fear no evil;
^(AM)For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You ^(AN)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You ^(AO)anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will ^[o]dwell in the house of the Lord
^[p]Forever.

The King of Glory and His Kingdom

A Psalm of David.

24 The ^(AP)earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
²For He has ^(AQ)founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the ^[q]waters.

³^(AR)Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
⁴He who has ^(AS)clean hands and ^(AT)a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor ^(AU)sworn deceitfully.
⁵He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶This is Jacob, the generation of those who ^(AV)seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah

⁷^(AW)Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
^(AX)And the King of glory shall come in.
⁸Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in ^(AY)battle.
⁹Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah

A Plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness

A Psalm of David.

25 To ^(AZ)You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
²O my God, I ^(BA)trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
^(BB)Let not my enemies triumph over me.
³Indeed, let no one who ^[r]waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

⁴^(BC)Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

⁶Remember, O Lord, ^(BD)Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
⁷Do not remember ^(BE)the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
^(BF)According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

⁸Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
⁹The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹^(BG)For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

¹²Who is the man that fears the Lord?
^(BH)Him shall ^[s]He teach in the way He chooses.
¹³^(BI)He himself shall dwell in ^[t]prosperity,
And ^(BJ)his descendants shall inherit the earth.
¹⁴^(BK)The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
¹⁵^(BL)My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall ^[u]pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶^(BM)Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,
For I am ^[v]desolate and afflicted.
¹⁷The troubles of my heart have enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses!
¹⁸^(BN)Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with ^[w]cruel hatred.
²⁰Keep my soul, and deliver me;
Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.
²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.

²²^(BO)Redeem Israel, O God,
Out of all their troubles!

A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

26 Vindicate ^(BP)me, O Lord,
For I have ^(BQ)walked in my integrity.
^(BR)I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
²^(BS)Examine me, O Lord, and ^[x]prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
³For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And ^(BT)I have walked in Your truth.
⁴I have not ^(BU)sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
⁵I have ^(BV)hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
⁸Lord, ^(BW)I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place ^[y]where Your glory dwells.

⁹^(BX)Do^[z] not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(BY)bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
¹²^(BZ)My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 22:1 Heb. Aijeleth Hashahar
Psalm 22:7 Show contempt with their mouth
Psalm 22:8 LXX, Syr., Vg. hoped; Tg. praised
Psalm 22:13 Lit. have opened their mouths at Me
Psalm 22:14 Lit. in the midst of My bowels
Psalm 22:16 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT Like a lion instead of They pierced
Psalm 22:20 Lit. My only one
Psalm 22:23 Lit. seed
Psalm 22:27 Gentiles
Psalm 22:27 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Arab., Syr., Vg. Him
Psalm 22:29 Death
Psalm 23:1 lack
Psalm 23:2 Lit. pastures of tender grass
Psalm 23:2 Lit. waters of rest
Psalm 23:6 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT return
Psalm 23:6 Or To the end of my days, lit. For length of days
Psalm 24:2 Lit. rivers
Psalm 25:3 Waits for You in faith
Psalm 25:12 Or he
Psalm 25:13 Lit. goodness
Psalm 25:15 Lit. bring out
Psalm 25:16 lonely
Psalm 25:19 violent hatred
Psalm 26:2 test me
Psalm 26:8 Lit. of the tabernacle of Your glory
Psalm 26:9 Do not take away