Psalms 22:13-14

22:13 They ¹  open their mouths to devour me ² 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ³ 

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ⁴ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ⁵  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

[22:13]  ¹ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[22:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ⁵ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.