The Psalms: Book 1, Psalm 22

Psalm 22  •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 4
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Book 1
Chap. 22.
1 To the chief musician, upon the hind of the dawn; a Psalm of David.
2 My God,1 my God,2 why hast thou forsaken me? far off from my deliverance, the words of my roaring?
3 My God, I call by day, and thou answerest not, and by night, and there is no silence for me.
4 And thou art holy, inhabiting the praises of Israel.
5 In thee our fathers trusted; they trusted, and thou dolt deliver them.
6 Unto thee they cried and they were delivered; in thee they trusted and they were not ashamed.
7 But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised of the people.
8 All those who see me mock me, they open wide with the lip, they shake the head.
9 Commit3 [thyself] unto Jehovah; let him deliver him; he will deliver him because he hath delighted in him.
10 For thou [art] he that didst bring me forth from the womb, causing me to trust4 upon the breasts of my mother.
11 Upon thee was I cast from the womb; from the belly of my mother thou [art] my God.5
12 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is no helper.
13 Many bulls have surrounded me; strong ones of Bashan have encompassed me.
14 They opened their mouth upon me, [like] a lion tearing in pieces and roaring.
15 I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been separated; my heart has become like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
16 My strength has been dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is cleaving to my jaws; and in the dust of death thou settest me.
17 For dogs have surrounded me, the congregation of evil-doers have encompassed me, piercing my hands and my feet.
18 I number all my bones; they behold, they look upon me.
19 They divide my garments amongst themselves and upon my vestment they cast lots.
20 But thou, O Jehovah, be not far off; O my strength, make haste to my help.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword, mine only one from the power6 of the dog.
22 Save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the buffaloes7 thou hast answered me.
23 I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
24 Ye who fear Jehovah, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
25 For he hath not despised nor hath he abhorred the affliction of the poor, and he hath not hidden his face from him, and when he cried for help unto him, he heard.
26 Of thee [is] my praise in the great congregation; I will perform my vows before those who fear him.
27 The humble eat and are satisfied; they praise Jehovah, who seek him; your heart shall live forever.
28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and shall turn unto Jehovah, and all tribes of the Gentiles shall bow down before thee.
29 For the kingdom is Jehovah's; and he ruleth among the Gentiles.
30 All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and shall bow down; before him shall bend all those who go down to the dust, and he [who] hath not kept alive his soul.
31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be declared by the Lord to the generation;
32 They shall come and shall tell his righteousness to a people that shall be born, that he hath done [it].
 
1. El.
2. El.
3. Or, roll.
4. Or, hang.
5. El.
6. Literally, hand.
7. Or, unicorns.