PSALMS • CHAPTER 22

Psalms 22

Prayer, praise, lament, kingship, justice, suffering, worship, wisdom, anger, hope, and Israel's poetic life with God.

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Psalms 22

WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
in the night season, and am not silent.

But you are holy,
you who inhabit the praises of Israel.

Our fathers trusted in you.
They trusted, and you delivered them.

They cried to you, and were delivered.
They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

All those who see me mock me.
They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,

“He trusts in Yahweh.
Let him deliver him.
Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”

But you brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.

I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me.

Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near.
For there is no one to help.

Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

They open their mouths wide against me,
lions tearing prey and roaring.

I am poured out like water.
All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It is melted within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have brought me into the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded me.
A company of evildoers have enclosed me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.

I can count all of my bones.
They look and stare at me.

They divide my garments among them.
They cast lots for my clothing.

But don’t be far off, Yahweh.
You are my help. Hurry to help me!

Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog.

Save me from the lion’s mouth!
Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my brothers.
Among the assembly, I will praise you.

You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
Neither has he hidden his face from him;
but when he cried to him, he heard.

My praise of you comes in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows before those who fear him.

The humble shall eat and be satisfied.
They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him.
Let your hearts live forever.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.

For the kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.

All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.

Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.

They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.

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ABOUT THE TEXT

Scripture text: World English Bible.

The World English Bible is public domain.

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POETRY

Where this chapter fits

Psalms belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.

Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.

Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.

ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS

Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.

Scientific claims should be compared with science.

Moral claims should be examined morally.

Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.

QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING

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What does the chapter actually say?

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What kind of literature is this?

Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.

What historical evidence matters?

Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.

What are the strongest competing interpretations?

Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.

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