Psalms 22:12-13

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 

Psalms 22:17

22:17 I can count ⁶  all my bones;

my enemies ⁷  are gloating over me in triumph. ⁸ 

[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.”

[22:17]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.

[22:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”