Psalms 22:12-16

22:12 Many bulls ¹  surround me;

powerful bulls of Bashan ²  hem me in.

22:13 They ³  open their mouths to devour me ⁴ 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ⁵ 

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ⁶ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ⁷  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

22:15 The roof of my mouth ⁸  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ⁹ 

You ¹⁰  set me in the dust of death. ¹¹ 

22:16 Yes, ¹²  wild dogs surround me –

a gang of evil men crowd around me;

like a lion they pin my hands and feet. ¹³ 

Psalms 22:21

22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, ¹⁴ 

and from the horns of the wild oxen! ¹⁵ 

You have answered me! ¹⁶ 

Ezekiel 2:3-6

2:3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the house ¹⁷  of Israel, to rebellious nations ¹⁸  who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted ¹⁹  against me to this very day. 2:4 The people ²⁰  to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, ²¹  and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’ ²²  2:5 And as for them, ²³  whether they listen ²⁴  or not – for they are a rebellious ²⁵  house ²⁶  – they will know that a prophet has been among them. 2:6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ²⁷  and thorns ²⁸  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ²⁹  for they are a rebellious house!

Matthew 10:16

Persecution of Disciples

10:16 “I ³⁰  am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, ³¹  so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:22

10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

John 15:20

15:20 Remember what ³²  I told you, ‘A slave ³³  is not greater than his master.’ ³⁴  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ³⁵  my word, they will obey ³⁶  yours too.

John 16:2

16:2 They will put you out of ³⁷  the synagogue, ³⁸  yet a time ³⁹  is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God. ⁴⁰ 

Acts 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁴¹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ⁴²  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ⁴³  to Jerusalem. ⁴⁴ 

Acts 9:16

9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” ⁴⁵ 

[22:12]  ¹ sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.

[22:12]  ² sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.

[22:13]  ³ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ⁴ 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).

[22:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[22:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ⁷ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[22:15]  ⁸ tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

[22:15]  ⁹ tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ¹⁰ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

[22:15]  ¹¹ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.

[22:16]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[22:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” This reading is often emended because it is grammatically awkward, but perhaps its awkwardness is by rhetorical design. Its broken syntax may be intended to convey the panic and terror felt by the psalmist. The psalmist may envision a lion pinning the hands and feet of its victim to the ground with its paws (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art), or a lion biting the hands and feet. The line has been traditionally translated, “they pierce my hands and feet,” and then taken as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Christ. Though Jesus does appropriate the language of this psalm while on the cross (compare v. 1 with Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34), the NT does not cite this verse in describing the death of Jesus. (It does refer to vv. 7-8 and 18, however. See Matt 27:35, 39, 43; Mark 15:24, 29; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.) If one were to insist on an emendation of כָּאֲרִי (ka’ariy, “like a lion”) to a verb, the most likely verbal root would be כָּרָה (karah, “dig”; see the LXX). In this context this verb could refer to the gnawing and tearing of wild dogs (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV). The ancient Greek version produced by Symmachus reads “bind” here, perhaps understanding a verbal root כרך, which is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic and means “to encircle, entwine, embrace” (see HALOT 497-98 s.v. כרך and Jastrow 668 s.v. כָּרַךְ). Neither one of these proposed verbs can yield a meaning “bore, pierce.”

[22:21]  ¹⁴ sn The psalmist again compares his enemies to vicious dogs and ferocious lions (see vv. 13, 16).

[22:21]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term רֵמִים (remim) appears to be an alternate spelling of רְאֵמִים (rÿ’emim, “wild oxen”; see BDB 910 s.v. רְאֵם).

[22:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me.” Most take the final verb with the preceding prepositional phrase. Some understand the verb form as a relatively rare precative perfect, expressing a wish or request (see IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew. (See the discussion at Ps 3:7.) Others prefer to take the perfect in its usual indicative sense. The psalmist, perhaps in response to an oracle of salvation, affirms confidently that God has answered him, assuring him that deliverance is on the way. The present translation takes the prepositional phrase as parallel to the preceding “from the mouth of the lion” and as collocated with the verb “rescue” at the beginning of the verse. “You have answered me” is understood as a triumphant shout which marks a sudden shift in tone and introduces the next major section of the psalm. By isolating the statement syntactically, the psalmist highlights the declaration.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew reads “sons of,” while the LXX reads “house,” implying the more common phrase in Ezekiel. Either could be abbreviated with the first letter ב (bet). In preparation for the characterization “house of rebellion,” in vv. 5, 6, and 8, “house” is preferred (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:10 and W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel [Hermeneia], 2:564-65).

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “to the rebellious nations.” The phrase “to the rebellious nations” is omitted in the LXX. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the singular word “nation” is used for Israel (36:13-15; 37:22). Here “nations” may have the meaning of “tribes” or refer to the two nations of Israel and Judah.

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sons.” The word choice may reflect treaty idiom, where the relationship between an overlord and his subjects can be described as that of father and son.

[2:4]  ²¹ tc Heb “stern of face and hard of heart.” The phrases “stern of face” and “hard of heart” are lacking in the LXX.

[2:4]  ²² tn The phrase “thus says [the Lord]” occurs 129 times in Ezekiel; the announcement is identical to the way messengers often introduced their messages (Gen 32:5; 45:9; Exod 5:10; Num 20:14; Judg 11:15).

[2:5]  ²³ tn Heb “they”; the phrase “And as for them” has been used in the translation for clarity.

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word implies obedience rather than mere hearing or paying attention.

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn This Hebrew adjective is also used to describe the Israelites in Num 17:25 and Isa 30:9.

[2:5]  ²⁶ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[2:6]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term occurs only here in the OT.

[2:6]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew term is found elsewhere in the OT only in Ezek 28:24.

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “of their faces.”

[10:16]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:16]  ³¹ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism; see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30.

[15:20]  ³² tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ³³ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ³⁴ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ³⁵ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “they will keep.”

[16:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “expel you from.”

[16:2]  ³⁸ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[16:2]  ³⁹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁰ sn Jesus now refers not to the time of his return to the Father, as he has frequently done up to this point, but to the disciples’ time of persecution. They will be excommunicated from Jewish synagogues. There will even be a time when those who kill Jesus’ disciples will think that they are offering service to God by putting the disciples to death. Because of the reference to service offered to God, it is almost certain that Jewish opposition is intended here in both cases rather than Jewish opposition in the first instance (putting the disciples out of synagogues) and Roman opposition in the second (putting the disciples to death). Such opposition materializes later and is recorded in Acts: The stoning of Stephen in 7:58-60 and the slaying of James the brother of John by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2-3 are notable examples.

[9:2]  ⁴¹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ⁴² sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ⁴³ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ⁴⁴ sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “because of my name.” BDAG 1031 s.v. ὑπέρ 2 lists Acts 9:16 as an example of ὑπέρ (Juper) used to indicate “the moving cause or reason, because of, for the sake of, for.”