Psalms 22:7-8

22:7 All who see me taunt ¹  me;

they mock me ²  and shake their heads. ³ 

22:8 They say, ⁴ 

“Commit yourself ⁵  to the Lord!

Let the Lord ⁶  rescue him!

Let the Lord ⁷  deliver him, for he delights in him.” ⁸ 

[22:7]  ¹ tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7]  ² tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7]  ³ sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.

[22:8]  ⁴ tn 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]  ⁵ tn 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ⁸ tn 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.