22:6 But I 1 am a worm, 2 not a man; 3
people insult me and despise me. 4
22:7 All who see me taunt 5 me;
they mock me 6 and shake their heads. 7
22:13 They 8 open their mouths to devour me 9
like a roaring lion that rips its prey. 10
1 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.
2 tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).
3 tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.
4 tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”
5 tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”
6 tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.
7 sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.
8 tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”
9 tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).
10 tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”