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II

13 Many bulls[a] surround me;
    fierce bulls of Bashan encircle me.
14 They open their mouths against me,
    lions that rend and roar.(A)
15 Like water my life drains away;
    all my bones are disjointed.
My heart has become like wax,
    it melts away within me.
16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat;
    my tongue cleaves to my palate;
    you lay me in the dust of death.[b]
17 Dogs surround me;
    a pack of evildoers closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet
18     I can count all my bones.(B)
They stare at me and gloat;
19     they divide my garments among them;
    for my clothing they cast lots.(C)
20 But you, Lord, do not stay far off;
    my strength, come quickly to help me.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my life from the grip of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
    my poor life from the horns of wild bulls.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 22:13–14 Bulls: the enemies of the psalmist are also portrayed in less-than-human form, as wild animals (cf. Ps 22:17, 21–22). Bashan: a grazing land northeast of the Sea of Galilee, famed for its cattle, cf. Dt 32:14; Ez 39:18; Am 4:1.
  2. 22:16 The dust of death: the netherworld, the domain of the dead.