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.

For the leader; set to “Deer of the Dawn”. A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you left me, my rescue so far from the words of my roaring?

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.

I cry in the day, you do not answer, I cry in the night but find no rest.

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

You are the Holy One, throned on the praises of Israel.

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

In you our ancestors trusted, they trusted and you delivered them.

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

They cried to you, and found safety, in you did they trust 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, not a person; insulted by others, despised by the people.

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

All who see me mock me, with mouths wide open and wagging heads:

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

‘He relies on the Lord; let him save him. Let him rescue the one he holds dear!’

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

But you drew me from the womb, laid me safely on my mother’s breasts.

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

On your care was I cast from my very birth, you are my God from my mother’s womb.

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 nigh, and there is none to help.

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

I am circled by many bulls, beset by the mighty of Bashan,

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

who face me with gaping jaws, like ravening roaring lions.

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.

Poured out am I like water, and all my bones are loosened. My heart is become like wax, melted within me.

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 palate is dry as a sherd, my tongue sticks to my jaws; in the dust of death you lay me.

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

For dogs are round about me, a band of knaves encircles me, gnawing my hands and my feet.

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

I can count my bones, every one. As for them, they feast their eyes on me.

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

They divide my garments among them, and over my raiment cast lots.

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

But you, O Lord, be not far, O my strength, hasten to help me.

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

Deliver my life from the sword my life from the power of the dogs.

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

Save me from the jaws of the lion, from the horns of the wild oxen help me.

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

I will tell of your fame to my kindred, and in the assembly will praise you.

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

Praise the Lord, you who fear him. All Jacob’s seed, give him glory. All Israel’s seed, stand in awe of him.

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 despised nor abhorred the sorrow of the sorrowful. He hid not his face from me, but he listened to my cry for help.

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

Of you is my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.

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 afflicted will eat to their heart’s desire, and those who seek after the Lord will praise him. Lift up your hearts forever.

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 will call it to mind, to the ends of the earth, and turn to the Lord; and all tribes of the nations will bow down before you.

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

For the kingdom belongs to the Lord: he is the Lord of 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.

To him will bow down all who sleep in the earth, and before him bend all who go down to the dust, and those who could not preserve their lives.

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

My descendants will tell of the Lord to the next generation;

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 declare his righteousness to people yet to be born: He has done it.