Readings for Lent and Easter

Footnotes

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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).
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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).