Psalms 22:6-10

Context

22:6 But I¹ am a worm,² not a man;³

people insult me and despise me.⁴

22:7 All who see me taunt⁵ me;

they mock me⁶ and shake their heads.⁷

22:8 They say,⁸

“Commit yourself⁹ to the Lord!

Let the Lord¹⁰ rescue him!

Let the Lord¹¹ deliver him, for he delights in him.”¹²

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out¹³ from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

22:10 I have been dependent on you since birth;¹⁴

from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.¹⁵

[22:6] ¹tn 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] ²tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6] ³tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6] ⁴tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[22:7] ⁵tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7] ⁶tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

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

[22:8] ⁹tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.

[22:8] ¹⁰tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the Lord.”

[22:8] ¹¹tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8] ¹²tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8] ¹³tn That is, “for he [the Lord] delights in him [the psalmist].” For other cases where the expression “delight in” refers to God’s delight in a person, see Num 14:8; 1 Kgs 10:9; Pss 18:19; 40:8.

[22:9] ¹³tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giyakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”

[22:10] ¹⁷tn Heb “upon you I was cast from [the] womb.”

[22:10] ¹⁸tn Heb “from the womb of my mother you [have been] my God.”