Psalm 22:7-22
New Catholic Bible
7 But I am a worm and not human,[a]
scorned by people and despised by my kinsmen.
8 All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer in mockery and toss their heads:[b]
9 “He relied on the Lord;
let the Lord set him free.
Let the Lord deliver him,
if he loves him.”[c]
10 [d]Yet you brought me out of the womb
and made me feel secure
upon my mother’s breast.
11 I was entrusted to your care at my birth;
from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.
12 Do not remain aloof from me,
for trouble is near
and no one can help me.
13 [e]Many bulls[f] are encircling me;
fierce bulls of Bashan are closing in on me.
14 They open wide their mouths against me
like ravening and roaring lions.
15 My strength is trickling away like water,
and all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[g] has turned to wax
and melts within me.
16 My mouth is as dry as clayware,
and my tongue sticks to my jaw;[h]
you have laid me down in the dust of death.
17 A pack of dogs surrounds me;
a band of evildoers is closing in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet;[i]
18 I can count all my bones.[j]
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.[k]
20 [l]But you, O Lord, do not remain aloof from me.
O my Strength, come quickly to my aid.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the grasp of the dogs.
22 Save me[m] from the lion’s mouth
and from the horns of wild oxen.
Footnotes
- Psalm 22:7 I am a worm and not human: this passage clearly depicts the psalmist’s sense of isolation (see Job 25:6; Isa 41:14).
- Psalm 22:8 They sneer in mockery and toss their heads: words and gestures of scorn, also indulged in by Christ’s foes on Calvary (see Mt 27:39; Mk 15:29). See also note on Ps 5:10.
- Psalm 22:9 Cited in Mt 27:43. If he loves him: may be taken as “if God loves the sufferer” or “if the sufferer loves God.”
- Psalm 22:10 After recalling what the Lord had been for Israel (vv. 4-6), the psalmist now recalls what the Lord has been for him. I was entrusted to your care at my birth: the father customarily acknowledged the newborn by taking it upon his knees (see Gen 50:23; Job 3:12).
- Psalm 22:13 Around the beleaguered man there arises a wave of hostility; he experiences in his flesh the whole of human sorrow. The images are delusive, and the cries become pathetic. Here is a man whose life is being taken away.
- Psalm 22:13 Bulls . . . lions . . . dogs: these are metaphors for the enemies. Bashan: a land east of the Jordan that was noted for its good pasturage and the size and quality of its animals (see Deut 32:14; Ezek 39:18; Am 4:1).
- Psalm 22:15 Bones . . . heart: his combination of “bones” and “heart” (see note on Ps 4:8) was used to refer to the whole person (body and spirit) (see Ps 102:4; Prov 14:30; 15:30; Isa 66:14).
- Psalm 22:16 My mouth . . . jaw: see Jn 19:28 (“I thirst”). The dust of death: the netherworld, domain of the dead; the author is using the language of his day, as in Mesopotamian descriptions of the netherworld (see Job 7:9, 21).
- Psalm 22:17 Pierced my hands and my feet: his limbs are wounded by the dogs as he seeks to fend off their attacks (see also Isa 53:5; Zec 12:10; Jn 19:34). Although the phrase finds its complete fulfillment in Christ’s crucifixion, it is not expressly used by the evangelists in the Passion account.
- Psalm 22:18 I can count all my bones: this could also be translated as “I must display all my bones.” The meaning is that one is attacked and stripped of his garments (see v. 19).
- Psalm 22:19 Explicitly cited in Jn 19:24 as a prophecy fulfilled in the action of the soldiers who divided Christ’s garments among them on Calvary.
- Psalm 22:20 The scene shifts as the beleaguered psalmist is led to confront the God of the Covenant. He thus recalls God’s promises to be near his people and to protect them from all adversity. He throws himself on the Lord’s mercy and is comforted.
- Psalm 22:22 Save me: an alternative translation is: “You have heard me.” The psalmist knows he has been heard and will be delivered from death.
