Go to Related Reading
About this book

Psalms

About this book
Psalm 22

1 For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”; a psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?⁠ I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.⁠ 2 My God, I cry out during the day, but you do not answer, and during the night my prayers do not let up.⁠ 3 You are holy; you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel. 4 In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted in you and you rescued them. 5 To you they cried out, and they were saved; in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm, not a man; people insult me and despise me. 7 All who see me taunt me; they mock me and shake their heads.⁠ 8 They say, “Commit yourself to the Lord! Let the Lord rescue him! Let the Lord deliver him, for he delights in him.” 9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out from the womb and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts. 10 I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not remain far away from me, for trouble is near and I have no one to help me. 12 Many bulls surround me; powerful bulls of Bashan hem me in.⁠ 13 They open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey.⁠ 14 My strength drains away like water; all my bones are dislocated. My heart is like wax; it melts away inside me. 15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums. You set me in the dust of death.⁠ 16 Yes, wild dogs surround me—a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.⁠ 17 I can count all my bones; my enemies are gloating over me in triumph. 18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments. 19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away. You are my source of strength. Hurry and help me! 20 Deliver me from the sword. Save my life from the claws of the wild dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the wild oxen. You have answered me.⁠ 22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.⁠ In the middle of the assembly I will praise you. 23 You loyal followers of the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honor him. All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him. 24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering of the oppressed. He did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded. 25 You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. 26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled. Let those who seek his help praise the Lord. May you live forever! 27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him. Let all the nations worship you. 28 For the Lord is king and rules over the nations. 29 All the thriving people of the earth will join the celebration and worship; all those who are descending into the grave will bow before him, including those who cannot preserve their lives. 30 A whole generation will serve him; they will tell the next generation about the Lord. 31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds; they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.

Texts in conversation

Matthew Has Jesus Quote Psalm 22 at the Crucifixion

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Psalm 22 opens with a cry of abandonment to God. Matthew has Jesus quoting this during the crucifixion, presenting his death as the experience of the righteous sufferer described in the psalm.

Passages

Psalm 22:1

Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”; a psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? I groan in prayer, but help seems far away. 2 My God, I cry out during the day, but you do not answer, and during the night my prayers do not let up. 3 You are holy; you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Matthew 27:46

New Testament
45 Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land. 46 At about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

References

“... Far more salient than these faint echoes of Isaiah’s Servant are several Matthean narrative devices that strengthen the connection of Jesus’ death to the suffering figure of Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. We have discussed above the way in which Matthew, in comparison to Mark, binds his account of the crucifixion more closely to Psalm 69 by the addition of narrative details that allude to the wording of Psalm 69:21 (68:22 LXX), the offering of gall as well as vinegar. And of course, Matthew, following Mark, recounts Jesus’ dying cry of Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” as the climactic moment of the crucifixion account (Matthew 27:46). Just as strikingly, immediately preceding this terrible moment, Matthew has distinctively prepared the way for the cry by placing in the mouths of the mocking chief priests, scribes, and elders a taunt derived from another verse of the same psalm: “He trusted in God; let God deliver him now if he wants to” (27:43; compare Psalm 22:9 [21:9 LXX]; compare Wisdom of Solomon 2:13, 18). There can be no doubt that we are meant to recall these texts and read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ suffering and death against the background of these psalms of suffering, lament, and ultimate vindication. ...”
Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), 197–198.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Psalm 22:1 and Matthew 27:46

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library