Psalms 22

1 Unto the end. For the tasks of early morning. A Psalm of David. O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses.

To the chief music-maker on Aijeleth-hash-shahar. A Psalm. Of David. My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my crying?

2 My God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for me.

O my God, I make my cry in the day, and you give no answer; and in the night, and have no rest.

3 But you dwell in holiness, O Praise of Israel.

But you are holy, O you who are seated among the praises of Israel.

4 In you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed them.

Our fathers had faith in you: they had faith and you were their saviour.

5 They cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confounded.

They sent up their cry to you and were made free: they put their faith in you and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the people.

But I am a worm and not a man; cursed by men, and looked down on by the people.

7 All those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the head.

I am laughed at by all those who see me: pushing out their lips and shaking their heads they say,

8 He has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses him.

He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him.

9 For you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my mother.

But it was you who took care of me from the day of my birth: you gave me faith even from my mother's breasts.

10 I have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my God.

I was in your hands even before my birth; you are my God from the time when I was in my mother's body.

11 Do not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help me.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near; there is no one to give help.

12 Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged me.

A great herd of oxen is round me: I am shut in by the strong oxen of Bashan.

13 They have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaring.

I saw their mouths wide open, like lions crying after food.

14 And so, I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered. My heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my chest.

I am flowing away like water, and all my bones are out of place: my heart is like wax, it has become soft in my body.

15 My strength has dried up like clay, and my tongue has adhered to my jaws. And you have pulled me down, into the dust of death.

My throat is dry like a broken vessel; my tongue is fixed to the roof of my mouth, and the dust of death is on my lips.

16 For many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feet.

Dogs have come round me: I am shut in by the band of evil-doers; they made wounds in my hands and feet.

17 They have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at me.

I am able to see all my bones; their looks are fixed on me:

18 They divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lots.

They make a division of my robes among them, by the decision of chance they take my clothing.

19 But you, O Lord, do not take your help far from me; be attentive to my defense.

Do not be far from me, O Lord: O my strength, come quickly to my help.

20 O God, rescue my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dog.

Make my soul safe from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horns of the single-horned beast.

Be my saviour from the lion's mouth; let me go free from the horns of the cruel oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the Church, I will praise you.

I will give the knowledge of your name to my brothers: I will give you praise among the people.

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him. All the offspring of Jacob, glorify him.

You who have fear of the Lord, give him praise; all you seed of Jacob, give him glory; go in fear of him, all you seed of Israel.

24 May all the offspring of Israel fear him. For he has neither spurned nor despised the pleas of the poor. Neither has he turned his face away from me. And when I cried out to him, he heeded me.

For he has not been unmoved by the pain of him who is troubled; or kept his face covered from him; but he has given an answer to his cry.

25 My praise is with you, within a great church. I will pay my vows in the sight of those who fear him.

My praise will be of you in the great meeting: I will make my offerings before his worshippers.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who yearn for the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will live forever and ever.

The poor will have a feast of good things: those who make search for the Lord will give him praise: your heart will have life for ever.

27 All the ends of the earth will remember, and they will be converted to the Lord. And all the families of the Gentiles will adore in his sight.

All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship.

28 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the Gentiles.

For the kingdom is the Lord's; he is the ruler among the nations.

29 All the fat of the earth have gnashed their teeth, and they have adored. In his sight, they will fall down, all those who descend to the ground.

All the fat ones of the earth will give him worship; all those who go down to the dust will make themselves low before him, even he who has not enough for the life of his soul.

30 And my soul will live for him, and my offspring will serve him.

A seed will be his servant; the doings of the Lord will be made clear to the generation which comes after.

31 There will be announced for the Lord a future generation, and the heavens will announce his justice to a people who will be born, whom the Lord has made.

They will come and make his righteousness clear to a people of the future because he has done this.