Psalm 22

From Suffering to Praise

For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?(A)
Why are you so far from my deliverance(B)
and from my words of groaning?(C)
My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
by night, yet I have no rest.(D)
But you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.(E)
Our ancestors trusted in you;
they trusted, and you rescued them.(F)
They cried to you and were set free;
they trusted in you and were not disgraced.(G)

But I am a worm and not a man,(H)
scorned by mankind and despised by people.(I)
Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer[a] and shake their heads:(J)
“He relies on[b] the Lord;
let him save him;
let the Lord[c] rescue him,
since he takes pleasure in him.”(K)

It was you who brought me out of the womb,
making me secure at my mother’s breast.(L)
10 I was given over to you at birth;[d]
you have been my God from my mother’s womb.(M)

11 Don’t be far from me, because distress is near
and there’s no one to help.(N)

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong ones of Bashan encircle me.(O)
13 They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.(P)
14 I am poured out like water,(Q)
and all my bones are disjointed;(R)
my heart is like wax,
melting within me.(S)
15 My strength is dried up like baked clay;(T)
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.(U)
You put me into the dust of death.(V)
16 For dogs have surrounded me;(W)
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced[e] my hands and my feet.(X)
17 I can count all my bones;
people[f] look and stare at me.(Y)
18 They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.(Z)

19 But you, Lord, don’t be far away.(AA)
My strength, come quickly to help me.(AB)
20 Rescue my life from the sword,(AC)
my only life[g] from the power of these dogs.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth,(AD)
from the horns of wild oxen.
You answered me![h]
22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the assembly.(AE)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(AF)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere him!(AG)
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the torment of the oppressed.(AH)
He did not hide his face from him(AI)
but listened when he cried to him for help.(AJ)

25 I will give praise in the great assembly
because of you;(AK)
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear you.[i](AL)
26 The humble will eat and be satisfied;(AM)
those who seek the Lord will praise him.
May your hearts live forever!(AN)

27 All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before you,(AO)
28 for kingship belongs to the Lord;
he rules the nations.(AP)
29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;
all those who go down to the dust
will kneel before him—
even the one who cannot preserve his life.(AQ)
30 Their descendants will serve him;
the next generation will be told about the Lord.(AR)
31 They will come and declare his righteousness;
to a people yet to be born
they will declare what he has done.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. 22:7 Lit separate with the lip
  2. 22:8 Or Rely on
  3. 22:8 Lit let him
  4. 22:10 Lit was cast on you from the womb
  5. 22:16 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read me; like a lion
  6. 22:17 Lit they
  7. 22:20 Lit my only one
  8. 22:21 Or oxen you rescued me
  9. 22:25 Lit him

To the Director: To the tune of[a] “Doe of the Dawn”.

A Davidic Psalm.

God Delivers His Suffering Servant

22 My God! My God!
    Why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from delivering me—
    from my groaning words?
My God, I cry out to you throughout the day,
    but you do not answer;
and throughout the night,
    but I have no rest.[b]

You are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted in you;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and escaped;
    they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

But as for me,
    I am only a worm and not a man,
        scorned by mankind and despised by people.
Everyone who sees me mocks me;
    they gape at me with open mouths
        and shake their heads at me.
They say,[c] “Commit yourself to the Lord;
    perhaps the Lord[d] will deliver him,
perhaps he will cause him to escape,
    since he delights in him.”

Yet, you are the one who took me from the womb,
    and kept me safe on my mother’s breasts.
10 I was dependent on you from birth;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so distant from me,
    for trouble is at hand;
        indeed, there is no deliverer.

12 Many bulls have surrounded me;
    the vicious bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 Their mouths are opened wide toward me,
    like roaring and attacking lions.

14 I am poured out like water;
    all my bones are out of joint.
        My heart is like wax, melting within me.
15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery;
    my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth,[e]
        and you have brought me down to the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded me;
    a gang of those who practice evil has encircled me.
        They gouged[f] my hands and my[g] feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
    They look at me;
        they stare at me.
18 They divide my clothing among themselves;
    they cast lots for my clothing!

19 But as for you, Lord, do not be far away from me;
    My Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword;
    my precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Deliver me from the mouth of the lion,
    from the horns of the wild oxen.

You have answered me.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you, saying,[h]
23 “All who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All the seed of Jacob, glorify him!
All the seed of Israel, fear him!
24 For he does not despise nor detest the afflicted person;
he does not hide his face from him,
    but he hears him when he cries out to him.”

25 My praise in the great congregation is because of you;
    I will pay my vows before those who fear you.[i]
26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him,
        “May you[j] live forever!”

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord;
    all the families of the nations will bow in submission to the Lord.
28 Indeed, the kingdom belongs to the Lord;
    he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous people will eat and bow down in submission.
    All those who are about to go down to the grave[k]
        will bow down in submission,
    along with the one who can no longer keep himself alive.
30 Our[l] descendants will serve him,
    and that generation will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and declare his righteousness
    to a people yet to be born;
        indeed, he has accomplished it!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 22:1 Lit. According to
  2. Psalm 22:2 Lit. but there is no silence for me
  3. Psalm 22:8 The Heb. lacks They say
  4. Psalm 22:8 Lit. he
  5. Psalm 22:15 Lit. to my jaws
  6. Psalm 22:16 So LXX Syr DSS 5/6 HevPS XHev/Se4; MT reads Like a lion
  7. Psalm 22:16 So MT; LXX lacks my
  8. Psalm 22:22 The Heb. lacks saying
  9. Psalm 22:25 Lit. him
  10. Psalm 22:26 Lit. your heart
  11. Psalm 22:29 Lit. dust
  12. Psalm 22:30 The Heb. lacks our