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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

Compare Psalm 22:16 and LXX Psalms 21:17

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Psalm 22 in the Hebrew and Greek versions uses language that is difficult to translate, especially the description of hands and feet, which may mean “like a lion” or “piercing”. Mark uses the Septuagint translation in the story of Jesus' crucifixion.

Passages

Psalm 22:16

Hebrew Bible
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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

LXX Psalms 21:17

Septuagint
14 They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. 15 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are loosened: my heart in the midst of my belly has become like melting wax. 16 My strength is dried up, like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and you have brought me down to the dust of death. 17 For many dogs have surrounded me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet. 18 I counted all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Psalms

References

"... The declaration of the centurion, ‘Truly this man was God’s son’ (Mark 15:39), is not in response to the Psalmic imagery of the crucifixion, but the events of the foregoing narrative (15:37-38). This particular scene dramatizes the judgment envisioned earlier in the parable of the wicked tenants: ‘He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others’ (12:9). In this case, the tearing of the Temple curtain preludes the coming judgment of the Temple elite whilst the confession of the centurion announces the coming of the age of the gentiles. In the final analysis, it is the description of suffering that led the author to scripturalize the details of Jesus’ crucifixion with LXX Psalm 21. (One other detail may have recommended the psalm to the author: in the Septuagint it reads, ‘They gouged my hands and feet’ ... ‘like a lion’. Whilst this variant could have been easily associated with the ordeal of crucifixion, there is no clear sign the earliest Christians made the association. Compare Zechariah 12:10 in John 19:34, 37) The use of the psalm is of a piece with the Psalmic descriptions of Esther (b. Meggilah 15b), the hymnist of the Hodayot and Aseneth (Joseph and Aseneth 12:11; 13:9). Unmarked language from the psalm has been merged into the narrative description of a suffering righteous person. Much like the scripturalized narratives surveyed earlier in the work, Mark or their source repeatedly draws on one scriptural source during the episode – in this case LXX Psalm 21 ..."
Nathanael Vette, Writing with Scripture: Scripturalized Narrative in the Gospel of Mark, LNTS 670 (London: T&T Clark, 2022), 189–190.

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

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Psalm 22:16 and LXX Psalms 21:17

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