Psalms 22:1-7

Context

Psalm 22¹

For the music director; according to the tune “Morning Doe;”² a psalm of David.

22:1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?³

I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.⁴

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up.⁵

22:3 You are holy;

you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.⁶

22:4 In you our ancestors⁷ trusted;

they trusted in you⁸ and you rescued them.

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.⁹

22:6 But I¹⁰ am a worm,¹¹ not a man;¹²

people insult me and despise me.¹³

22:7 All who see me taunt¹⁴ me;

they mock me¹⁵ and shake their heads.¹⁶

[22:1] ¹sn Psalm 22. The psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his dangerous enemies, who have surrounded him and threaten his life. Confident that the Lord will intervene, he then vows to thank the Lord publicly for his help and anticipates a time when all people will recognize the Lord’s greatness and worship him.

[22:1] ²tn Heb “according to the doe of the dawn.” Apparently this refers to a particular musical tune or style.

[22:1] ³sn From the psalmist’s perspective it seems that God has abandoned him, for he fails to answer his cry for help (vv. 1b-2).

[22:1] ⁴tn Heb “far from my deliverance [are] the words of my groaning.” The Hebrew noun שְׁאָגָה (shÿ’agah) and its related verb שָׁאַג (sha’ag) are sometimes used of a lion’s roar, but they can also describe human groaning (see Job 3:24 and Pss 32:3 and 38:8.

[22:2] ⁵tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[22:3] ⁶tn Heb “[O] one who sits [on] the praises of Israel.” The verb “receiving” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The metaphorical language pictures the Lord as sitting enthroned as king in his temple, receiving the praises that his people Israel offer up to him.

[22:4] ⁷tn Heb “fathers.”

[22:4] ⁸tn The words “in you” are supplied in the translation. They are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[22:5] ⁹tn Or “were not ashamed.”

[22:6] ¹⁰tn 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.

[22:6] ¹¹tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6] ¹²tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6] ¹³tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[22:7] ¹⁴tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7] ¹⁵tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7] ¹⁶sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.