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Psalm 22
Living Bible
Psalm 22
Living Bible
22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why do you refuse to help me or even to listen to my groans? 2 Day and night I keep on weeping, crying for your help, but there is no reply— 3-4 for you are holy.
The praises of our fathers surrounded your throne; they trusted you and you delivered them. 5 You heard their cries for help and saved them; they were never disappointed when they sought your aid.
6 But I am a worm, not a man, scorned and despised by my own people and by all mankind. 7 Everyone who sees me mocks and sneers and shrugs. 8 “Is this the one who rolled his burden on the Lord?” they laugh. “Is this the one who claims the Lord delights in him? We’ll believe it when we see God rescue him!”
9-11 Lord, how you have helped me before![a] You took me safely from my mother’s womb and brought me through the years of infancy. I have depended upon you since birth; you have always been my God. Don’t leave me now, for trouble is near and no one else can possibly help.
12 I am surrounded by fearsome enemies, strong as the giant bulls from Bashan. 13 They come at me with open jaws, like roaring lions attacking their prey. 14 My strength has drained away like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart melts like wax; 15 my strength has dried up like sun-baked clay; my tongue sticks to my mouth, for you have laid me in the dust of death. 16 The enemy, this gang of evil men, circles me like a pack of dogs; they have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count every bone in my body. See these men of evil gloat and stare; 18 they divide my clothes among themselves by a toss of the dice.
19 O Lord, don’t stay away. O God my Strength, hurry to my aid. 20 Rescue me from death; spare my precious life from all these evil men.[b] 21 Save me from these lions’ jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. Yes, God will answer me and rescue me.
22 I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done. 23 “Praise the Lord, each one of you who fears him,” I will say. “Each of you[c] must fear and reverence his name. Let all Israel sing his praises, 24 for he has not despised my cries of deep despair; he has not turned and walked away. When I cried to him, he heard and came.”
25 Yes, I will stand and praise you[d] before all the people. I will publicly fulfill my vows in the presence of all who reverence your name.
26 The poor[e] shall eat and be satisfied; all who seek the Lord shall find him and shall praise his name. Their hearts shall rejoice with everlasting joy. 27 The whole earth shall see it and return to the Lord; the people of every nation shall worship him.
28 For the Lord is King and rules the nations. 29 Both proud and humble together, all who are mortal—born to die—shall worship him. 30 Our children too shall serve him, for they shall hear from us about the wonders of the Lord; 31 generations yet unborn shall hear of all the miracles he did for us.
Footnotes
- Psalm 22:9 Lord, how you have helped me before, implied.
- Psalm 22:20 Rescue me from death; spare my precious life from all these evil men, literally, “Deliver my soul from the sword, my only one from the power of the dog!”
- Psalm 22:23 Each of you, literally, “All you sons of Jacob.”
- Psalm 22:25 praise you, literally, “praise from you.”
- Psalm 22:26 The poor, literally, “The afflicted.”
Psalm 22
New International Version
Psalm 22
New International Version
Psalm 22[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(A)
Why are you so far(B) from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?(C)
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(D)
by night,(E) but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(F)
you are the one Israel praises.[c](G)
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.(H)
5 To you they cried out(I) and were saved;
in you they trusted(J) and were not put to shame.(K)
6 But I am a worm(L) and not a man,
scorned by everyone,(M) despised(N) by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;(O)
they hurl insults,(P) shaking their heads.(Q)
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.(R)
Let him deliver him,(S)
since he delights(T) in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;(U)
you made me trust(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(W) I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
12 Many bulls(AA) surround me;(AB)
strong bulls of Bashan(AC) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AD) that tear their prey(AE)
open their mouths wide(AF) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;(AH)
it has melted(AI) within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,(AJ)
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(AK)
you lay me in the dust(AL) of death.
16 Dogs(AM) surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e](AN) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare(AO) and gloat over me.(AP)
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots(AQ) for my garment.(AR)
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(AS)
You are my strength;(AT) come quickly(AU) to help me.(AV)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(AW)
my precious life(AX) from the power of the dogs.(AY)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(AZ)
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BA)
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly(BB) I will praise you.(BC)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(BD)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!(BE)
Revere him,(BF) all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised(BG) or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;(BH)
he has not hidden his face(BI) from him
but has listened to his cry for help.(BJ)
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(BK)
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.(BL)
26 The poor will eat(BM) and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—(BN)
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth(BO)
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,(BP)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(BQ)
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich(BR) of the earth will feast and worship;(BS)
all who go down to the dust(BT) will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.(BU)
30 Posterity(BV) will serve him;
future generations(BW) will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,(BX)
declaring to a people yet unborn:(BY)
He has done it!(BZ)
Footnotes
- Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
- Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
- Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
- Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
- Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
- Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him
Living Bible (TLB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.