Psalm 22:1-18 Trusting God When It’s Really Hard

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 22 Mar 2015

Translation

1 For the concertmaster upon Ayyelet HaShachar ; a psalm belonging to David.
My God, My God for what reason did You forsake me?
My groaning words [come] from [being] far away from my salvation.

2 My God, I call out daily – yet you do not answer,
and nightly – yet there is no rest for me.

3 But You are holy, basking in the praises of Israel.

4 In You our fathers trusted. They trusted, and You delivered them.

5 To You they cried out, and they were rescued .
In You they trusted, and they did not experience shame.

6 But I am a worm – hardly even a man,
a human stigma, and a one who is despised by [the] people.

7 All those who see me mock at me,
they burst out with [their] mouth, they shake the head,

8 “Roll yourself to Yahweh! He will deliver him;
He will cause him to escape because He has delighted in him,

9 because You are the one who [made] me burst out from the womb,
causing me to trust upon the breasts of my mother.

10 You are the one I was sent to since birth.
Since [I was in] the womb of my mother You have been my God.

11 Don’t be far away from me, because a crisis is near because there is no helper.

12 Many young bulls have surrounded me;
mighty bulls of Bashan circled me.

13 They opened their mouth against me [like] a lion ripping and roaring

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones separate themselves;
my heart became like wax. It was melted between my intestines.

15 My strength dried up like pottery, and my tongue is caused to be stuck to my palate ,
and You will set me up for the dust of death .

16 For dogs have surrounded me – a crowd of hoodlums close in around me.
They pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I will carefully count all my bones;
As for them, they will take a look – they will see with me.

18 They will divvy up my garments for themselves,
and they will roll dice over my clothing.

Exegesis

· v.1

o The striking thing as we begin the psalm is that we recognize the opening phrase, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as the words that Jesus uttered from the cross. This psalm, while it may be from David, is inescapably also about Jesus, and we will see that as we go forward.

o The second half of verse one is somewhat difficult to translate. Most English translations repeat the words “Why are you,” even though those words are not repeated in the original. The Hebrew is literally “far from my salvation words of my groaning” - or “roaring” - I have heard lions make noises at zoos which sounded very much like a loud groan from a man. It is very much like the opening of Psalm 10:1 “Why, Yahweh, will You stand in [the] distance [and] ignore [things] at times that include trouble?” (NAW)

· In verse 2, David is saying that there is no end to the turmoil, no end to the groaning, and no confidence that God had heard is going to take care of it, so the need to keep calling out to God seems urgent. There is not even the feeling that God has answered in such a way that the supplicant is free to end his prayers.

o Some of the ways this word has been used previous to this psalm include Aaron’s response of holding his peace after God had sent fire from heaven to destroy his sons Nadab and Abihu for disobeying God’s instructions on how a priest should offer incense. Immediately God sent a prophet to explain to Aaron why his sons had been struck dead, and Leviticus 10:3 tells us that after this explanation Aaron had dumiyyah before God.

o Job likewise mentions this kind of dumiyyah peace: Job 29:21 “Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.” NKJV

o Earlier in Psalm 4:4 we saw an exhortation to have this kind of silence: “...stop sinning! Speak into your heart upon your bed, and be still... Y’all should sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness and trust to Yahweh.” (NAW).

o Later on, Isaiah 6:5 also mentions this kind of silence, struck dumb with awe in the presence of God and realizing that his sin left him with no right to speak to God. “Woe to me!, For I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips I am dwelling, For my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts!” (NAW)

· In v.3

o The word “sitting” is active, not passive, so God is “sitting” not “being made to sit” –

o the word “throne” is not actually in the Hebrew here, but the sense of sitting on the throne is not inaccurate, since, in Hebrew, “sitting” was not a posture symbolic of rest but rather a posture symbolic of leadership.

o Nowhere else in the Bible does it speak of God “inhabiting/being enthroned” in our praises, so I interpret this to be a poetic picture of how God receives and even enjoys praise from His people and how He also uses our words and hymns of praise to fulfill His purposes on earth.

o We saw this earlier as part of a prayer request in Psalm 9:13-14 “Yahweh, see my misery [caused by] those who hate me. Be gracious to me by raising me up away from the gates of death, in order that I may recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice in Your salvation.”

o We also see it in the New Testament, where the Apostle Peter wrote, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV).

o At the same time, there seems to be a contrast between the distraught and suffering David in vs.2-3 and the calm, seated God in v.4. God doesn’t have to be anxious just because you’re anxious.

· vs.4-5 It’s almost like David lifts his eyes and sees the bigger picture for a moment – that his suffering isn’t all there is, that God is still on the throne, and that the goal of this horrible experience is ultimately to bring praise to God. This leads David to a further thought: throughout history, people have trusted God through all kinds of hardships before!

o Who are these “fathers”? Most of the pre-psalm references to “our fathers” refer to the nation of Israel during the time of the Exodus, for example, Numbers 20:15-16, “...our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt...” (NKJV, cf. 1 Kings 8)

o Think about the many times that the Israelites trusted in God and experienced deliverance during that time: the cries for salvation by Israelites falling under the whips of Egyptian slavemasters, the trust it took to follow the renegade prince Moses suddenly out of the strongest nation in the world, the panicked cries to God as Pharoah’s army bore down upon them after they were pinned up against the Red Sea, the parched lips that cried out to God from the middle of the dessert for water to drink, the famished children who cried out to God for food, the panicked cries for help as they were being bitten by poisonous snakes. Time after time after time, when they cried out to God, He delivered them.

o Whenever you are not sure if you can trust God through the problem you are facing now, look back to those fathers of old and remind yourself of how God answered their prayers and delivered them. Let that strengthen your faith to trust God in the here and now. God has not changed; He still does this kind of thing, even though He often allows a season of suffering first.

o That even happened to the Apostle Paul, who wrote to Timothy: “...what persecutions I endured, but then the Lord delivered me out of all of them” (2 Tim. 3:10-11, NAW).

o We will not be ashamed or disappointed. “Shame/disappointment” is the opposite of “trust.” Those who trust the LORD will not be shaken.

o Isaiah put it this way: “the Lord Jehovah will help me, therefore I will not be humiliated, therefore I have set my face like the flint and I will know that I will not be shamed. My justifier is near...” (Isa. 50:7-8, NAW, cf. Isa. 54:4, Psalm 6:10)

· Every verse in this Psalm up to this point in Hebrew started with the word “You” – focused on God. Now, in v.6, the focus turns to the psalmist himself.

o This is often the experience of the worshipper. We start our prayers because we’ve got a little bit of a beef with God – something didn’t go the way we wanted. Then, as we begin to pray, we get a glimpse of how holy God is, and that causes us to turn from our self-righteous criticism of God to confess our sin before God. This is normal.

o David calls himself a “worm,” quoting the book of Job, “How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?” (Job 25:4-6, NKJV)

o But there is hope for sinners who are as lowly as worms in the sight of the holy God: “Fear not, I myself help you. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you sorry lot of Israel! I am the one who helps you,” declares Jehovah; “your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:13b-14, NAW)

o David had his share of experiences of being despised. 1 Sam 17:42 tells us that when Goliath saw David coming against him, he “despised” David, and later on David’s own wife “despised” him for praising God wholeheartedly (1 Chron 15:29).

o But thus it is for all who follow God faithfully. The Apostle Paul wrote that, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12, NKJV) There will be times when people say how despicable we are.

o The prophets of old experienced it too: “...they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16, NKJV).

o The faithful reconstruction Jews experienced it when they returned from Babylon and rebuilt Jerusalem: “...when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, ‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?’ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, ‘Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.’” (Nehemiah 4:1-3, NKJV) That’s an example of mocking words that God’s people have had to endure before.

o Isaiah even uses the same vocabulary to describe what Jesus experienced on the cross: “He was despised and was the One rejected of men – a sorrowing man also known by grief. And like one from whom there is hiding of faces, He was despised and we did not give Him consideration. Surely our griefs He Himself carried, and our sorrows, He bore them. Yet we, we considered Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. However, He was being pierced from our rebellion – beaten from our iniquity. Chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes there is healing for us.” (Isa. 53:3-6, NAW)

· In verse 7 and following we see the mocking:

o I suspect that the mouth sounds that accompanied the mocking were something like the way we click our tongues or say “Um, Um, Um,” while shaking our heads today. Lamentations 2:15 “All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem...”

o Mocking often comes in the form of repeating words someone just said. Do you remember how it felt when someone did that to you? “I’m going to tell Mama. I’m going to tell Mama. Stop! Stop! Quit copying me. Quit copying me....”

o The first word in verse 8 is an imperative in Hebrew, so the NASB is correct: “Commit yourself to the LORD,” or literally “Roll yourself toward Yahweh,”

o Although this is not an exact quote of anything the Bible quotes of David, it is nevertheless along the lines of quotes we have from David, for instance in Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 37:3-5 “Trust in the LORD, and do good... Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (NKJV) and Psalm 18:19b “...He will snatch me away because He delights in me.” (NAW, cf. Psalm 7:1) Mockers were hurling these confident expressions in David’s face and saying, “You were so sure of yourself then, but now it doesn’t look like God is going to do all those things you thought He would after all! We are going to kill you & bury your memory!

o I’m not sure whether vs.9-10 are still the mockers speaking or not, but David says that he trusted God from the time he was a baby. The birth of a baby is an amazing thing. This child has been confined in this tight place between its mother’s lungs and pelvis for nine months, totally dependent upon an amazing temporary organ called the placenta to transfer all food and oxygen from the mother’s blood to its own. Then one day, suddenly the amniotic fluid bursts, and six to ten pounds of flesh and bone squirm through an aperture in the mother’s pelvic bone and out into the air. This motion causes the baby’s chest to compress and release in what it called the fetal Heimlich, resulting in a radical change in the baby’s respiratory system as its little lungs inflate for the first time with air and begin to supply oxygen to its own blood as the umbilical cord is cut and the baby becomes independent of the placenta. However, the neonate is still utterly unable to provide food for itself; it is still completely dependent on God to provide food, and God provides through the mother’s breasts, which are yet another absolutely-amazing design system capable of delivering not only food and nutrients but also hormones and immunities dynamically according to the changing needs of that specific child each day.

o Now, at birth, an infant understands only a fraction of all this; there is just a simple trust, “When I cry, Mama will take care of me.” As time goes on, Mommy and Daddy, if they know God, will explain that their care for baby is actually God’s care for that baby through their human agency as parents, and that there is a God to whom baby is accountable to trust and obey, so that when baby grows up into a man, he can say that it was God all along who sustained him from his earliest days in his mother’s womb and that his parents had dedicated him to the LORD, casting him upon God’s care ultimately, and he can confess, “Jesus is my Lord!”

o This process was true of David; it was true of David’s “greater son” Jesus, and it can be true of you and your children today – a seamless transfer of trust from parents to Jesus. I won’t say that the transfer isn’t bumpy sometimes, and I’m not saying that it is accomplished by mere human effort – there is no saving faith without the regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit, but the goal is for each of our children to say, “You have been my God ever since I was conceived!” That is why we do infant dedications or baptisms – to show that this goal is possible and it is important.

· In v.1, the psalmist complained that his savior was “far away” – or at least it felt like it. Now, in v.11, he issues a command to God not to get too far away, and he offers two reasons, first that “trouble/crisis” is near, and second that there is no “helper.”

o This word “helper” only occurs in one other place in the Psalms, where it is clearly stated that the LORD is the helper: Psalm 10:14 “To You the weakest will abandon himself; [to the] orphan You Yourself have been a helper.” (NAW)

o In the context of the assertion that the LORD is the helper, I think Psalm 22:11 is making the case that there is no one else but God who is a helper, therefore, if God abandons me, there will be no one left to help, so that’s why God must remain near.

o I need help and God is the only one who can provide that help. This is significant. When you suffer, you need to see that nothing else but God can truly help you. Not drugs, not other people, not technology, not your alliances. Sure, you can employ all these things lawfully, but they are not ultimately the solution for you.

o The author of Hebrews reminds us that God Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU." So we may boldly say: "THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?" (Heb. 13:5-6, NKJV)

o Furthermore, the Apostle Paul explains how we are brought near to God in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (NKJV)

o so we can assert, as he did in Philippians 4:5b-7 “the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but rather in everything by prayer and by petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known before God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NAW)

· In verses 12-18, we see a man about to die

o Bashan was SE of the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Jordan, and it had a reputation for growing things big – like Texas. It was where some of the last giants lived (Deut. 3:11-13), and it also grew famously-big oak trees (Isa. 2:13), so the bulls of Bashan would also have been particularly big.

o Now, a bull is a powerful creature; cowboys learn to have a healthy respect for those animals. The clown at the rodeo that gets in there with the bull, I have been told, is very careful and experienced, and when the bull starts going after one cowboy, you notice all the cowboys in the ring work together urgently to get their buddy to safety fast.

o Now, this is an analogy of sorts, since David wasn’t primarily working with cattle, he was a freedom fighter. He’s describing a situation where he’s surrounded by enemy soldiers, and it looks like certain death.

o There are a few other places in Scripture where people opened their mouths in the same way in order to say something: In Judges 11:35 Jepthah “opened his mouth” by making a promise to God, Job “opened his mouth” to talk to God and to his friends about his suffering (Job 35:16), and in Lam. 2:16 & 3:46 “enemies open their mouths against us [they hiss and gnash their teeth],” so it’s possible that these people opened their mouths merely to say devastating things to David.

o Jesus also faced devastating words of mockery while hanging on the cross: “...those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.” (Mark 15:29-32, NKJV)

o On the other hand, David and his mighty men (2 Sam 23:20) fought real wild lions, and in earlier psalms – like Psalm 7 – David compared wicked men to lions who relentlessly stalk the weak and maim and kill without compunction.

o There are some very unique phrases in v.14. nowhere else in the Bible do we see bones separating out of joint or hearts melting like wax, although there are a few other passages about hearts melting with dismay before the wrath of God, such as Ezekiel 21:12, “Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,” says the Lord GOD. The situation David describes sounds like either a desperate soldier about to be killed and terrified of death, or perhaps like a man convicted of sin and coming undone over the terror of the wrath of God against sin. David experienced both. Jesus also experienced the terror of the wrath of God against sin, and the suffering he endured on the cross would have put bones out of joint – although notice they were never broken (John 19:36), and the Gospels indicate that He suffered tremendous thirst on the cross as well (John 19:38).

o The phrase “dust of death” in verse 15 does not occur anywhere else in the Bible, but it does seem to be a poetic expression of the statement God made early on to Adam, “dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19, KJV, cf. Psalm 104:29 & Ecclesiastes 12:7) – he was made out of dirt, and now that he had sinned, he would die and turn back into dirt. David died and was buried. Jesus also died and was buried. This is part of the penalty for sin and therefore the price that Jesus had to pay in order to save us from sin.

o In v.16, the picture of bulls surrounding him in v.12 changes to being surrounded by dogs. Dogs were wild scavenger animals that preyed upon the weak, more like coyotes than pets. Their strength is in numbers; a pack of wild dogs could easily finish off a weak and dying man. These dogs seem to be equated with an association of wicked men. Compared to the bulls that seemed to represent mighty warriors that threatened his life at first, these are more like hoodlums bent on finishing a weak man off and stealing what there is to steal.

o Now, Non-Messianic Jews have a hard time with the end of v.16. For instance, the editor of the Jewish Soncino Bible commentary wrote, “The Hebrew is difficult...” The reason is that the prophecy of Jesus’ death on the cross is all too clear, but that would destroy their Judaism to admit that Jesus was the Messiah, so they seek another meaning. Here is an instance where Christians have rejected the reading of the traditional Masoretic text in favor of a different reading found in the much more ancient Septuagint and Vulgate versions. The Hebrew text reads “like a lion my hands and my feet,” which doesn’t even make any sense, but the older Greek and Latin versions read, “they pierced my hands and my feet,” which makes a lot of sense in light of Jesus’ death on the cross. This raises the question of whether or not the original word was actually “pierced” and whether it was preserved in these early translations of the Hebrew Bible and whether Jews purposefully changed the letters of this word in the Hebrew text after the time of Christ.

o One clue can be found in the translations made by Jews in the second century AD. Around the year 150, two men named Aquilla and Symmachus independently re-translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek because they didn’t like the way the Christians were using the Septuagint to show that Jesus fulfilled prophecy. When we look at how these second-century Jews translated Psalm 22:16, we see that they used the Greek verb epedhsan, which I think would be translated into English, “they... lay bare my hands and my feet.” Aquilla and Symmachus were both rather wooden in their translating style and would not have stretched so far as to change a noun “lion” into a verb “lay bare,” so that would indicate that at the year 150, the Hebrew text might not have had the word “lion” like it does now, and that is mighty suspicious.

o Now, to their credit, it does not seem that the Masorite Jews have tampered much with the Hebrew Bible, but this is one of the few places where this seems to be the case. By and large, Christians follow the reading of the Septuagint here, “They pierced my hands and my feet.”

o The mention in v.18 of “casting lots/apportioning” “garments/clothing” is also unique. While it is reasonable to assume that this is what hoodlums would do if they found some nice clothes on a dying man – strip the body of anything valuable and divide it among themselves, the one place in the Bible where we see this actually happening is at the cross, where Jesus’ seamless tunic was considered to be of some value to the soldiers who crucified him, so they cast lots to see who would get the whole tunic (Matt. 27:35).

Conclusion

This is heavy stuff, and I apologize for the length. Suffering is difficult to enter into and takes time to deal with. But let me conclude with four principles I see in the first half of this psalm regarding how to trust God when it is really difficult:

1. IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH GOD

· Do you see David’s example here? v.1 “My God, My God...” v.10 “Since I was in the womb of my mother You have been my God.”

· Suffering is a watershed moment that can result in us hating God for allowing the suffering and never wanting anything to do with Him again, or it can cause us to cling to Him harder, knowing that without Him there is no other helper. This Psalm tells us that when you reach that watershed moment, you need to keep identifying yourself with God.

· Early on in church history, a disciple of the Apostle John named Polycarp was arrested by the Romans. They told Polycarp, “Deny Christianity and proclaim Caesar as Lord, and we will let you go home unharmed.” Polycarp refused. They led him to the arena where wood for a bonfire had been arranged around a vertical stake. They said, “If you don’t deny Christianity, we will burn you at this stake.” It was a watershed moment for Polycarp, and he followed David’s example from Psalm 22; he said, “Eighty-six years have I served my Lord Jesus Christ, and He has never done me wrong. I will not deny Him now!”

2. REMEMBER GOD’S DELIVERANCES

· Just as David reminded himself in verses 4-5 of the slaves in Egypt who were delivered from bondage (and other life-threatening things) when they cried out to God,

· and just as David celebrated God’s deliverances from Saul’s threats against his own life in many of his psalms,

· so we need to stop and remember God’s deliverances throughout history,

· including the ultimate deliverance from sin prophecied by this very Psalm when Jesus demonstrated His amazing love and awesome power over sin by dying on the cross for you.

· Let this strengthen your faith when you are feeling overwhelmed by evil, that there is nothing our God can’t do to deliver you.

3. TALK TO GOD

· Don’t you think God already knew that David’s strength was dried up and that his tongue was dry? Of course, God knows everything.

· So why bother to tell Him? Because you talk to friends about your experiences. If you were in a car wreck with a friend and you both survived, would you say to yourself, “Well, there’s nothing to talk about because obviously my friend was there when it happened!”? No, of course you’d talk about it because it was a common experience; it gives you something to talk about!

· In a similar way, God is personal, and so it is entirely appropriate to talk to Him about the suffering you are experiencing. Jesus experienced everything in this Psalm, so you have something in common you can talk with Him about!

· Of course, with God, it is different than with all your other friends, because God can also do something about your needs, so when you talk to God, do what David did and make requests and build a logical case for why He should fulfill those requests. “You can’t stay away from me because trouble is near and I have no other helper. I’ve been trusting you all along. Now please deliver me!”

4. TRUST JESUS

· Our greatest need for deliverance is from the wrath of God against our own sin, and in order to receive that deliverance we must trust the deliverance which Jesus has accomplished for us.

· Suffering, forsakenness, death, and hell are what we all deserve because we have broken God’s 10 Commandments.

· This Psalm is a prophecy about what Jesus would do about a thousand years later (which, from our perspective is now about 2,000 years ago).

· Jesus experienced suffering, being forsaken, death, and hell, even though He had never broken any of the 10 Commandments. He did it in order to pay for your sin in your place and switch His perfect obedience with your sinful record so that you could be made right with God. Do you believe that?

· “I’m forgiven because You were forsaken.
I’m accepted; You were condemned.
I’m alive and well... because You died and rose again.
Amazing love, how can it be that You my King should die for me?” ~Billy Foote, You Are My King

Comparative Translations with Editing Notes by Nate

PSALM 22	NAW	KJV	NKJV	ESV	NASB	NIV	LXX (21)	Brenton
א לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד. ב אֵלִי אֵלִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי רָחוֹק מִישׁוּעָתִי דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִי.	1 For the concertmaster upon Ayyelet HaShachar^{^[1]}; a psalm belonging to David. My God, My God for what reason did You forsake me? My groaning^{^[2]} words [come] from [being] far away from my salvation.	1 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?	1 To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Deer of the Dawn." a Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?	1 To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? [Why are you so] far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?	1 For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.	1 For the director of music. To [the tune] of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? [Why are you so] far from saving me, [so far] from the words of my groaning?	1) Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀντιλήμψεως τῆς ἑωθινῆς^{^[3]}· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. (2) Ὁ θεὸς ὁ θεός μου, [~~πρόσχες μοι~~]· ἵνα τί ἐγκατέλιπές με; μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου οἱ λόγοι ~~τῶν παραπτωμά~~ των μου.	1 For the end, concerning the morning aid, a Psalm of David. O God, my God, [~~attend to me~~:] why hast thou forsaken me? the account of my ~~transgressions~~ is far from my salvation.
ג אֱ‍לֹהַי אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה וְלַיְלָה וְלֹא דוּמִיָּה לִי.	2 My God, I call out daily – yet you do not answer, and nightly – yet there is no rest^{^[4]} for me.	2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.	2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.	2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.	2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.	2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.	3) ὁ θεός μου, κεκράξομαι ἡμέρας, καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ, καὶ νυκτός, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ~~ἄνοιαν~~ ἐμοί.	2 O my God, I will cry to thee by day, but thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be ~~accounted~~ ~~for~~ ~~folly~~ to me.
ד וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל.	3 But You are holy, basking^{^[5]} in the praises^{^[6]} of Israel.	3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.	3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.	3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.	3 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.	3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praiseX of Israel.	4) σὺ δὲ ἐν ἁγίοις^{^[7]} κατοικεῖς, ὁ ἔπαινος Ισραηλ.	3 But thou, the praiseX of Israel, dwellest in a sanctuary.
ה בְּךָ בָּטְחוּ אֲבֹתֵינוּ בָּטְחוּ וַתְּפַלְּטֵמוֹ.	4 In You our fathers trusted. They trusted, and You delivered them.	4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.	4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them.	4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.	4 In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them.	4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.	5) ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἤλπισαν, καὶ ἐρρύσω αὐτούς·	4 Our fathers hoped in thee; they hoped, and thou didst deliver them.
ו אֵלֶיךָ זָעֲקוּ וְנִמְלָטוּ בְּךָ בָטְחוּ וְלֹא בוֹשׁוּ.	5 To You they cried out^{^[8]}, and they were rescued^{^[9]}. In You they trusted, and they did not experience shame^{^[10]}.	5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.	5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.	5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.	5 To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.	5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.	6) πρὸς σὲ ἐκέκραξαν καὶ ἐσώθησαν, ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισαν καὶ οὐ κατῃσχύνθησαν.	5 They cried to thee, and were saved: they hoped in thee, and were not ashamed.
ז וְאָנֹכִי תוֹלַעַת וְלֹא אִישׁ חֶרְפַּת אָדָם וּבְזוּי עָם.	6 But I^{^[11]} am a worm, hardly even a man, a human stigma, and a one who is despised^{^[12]} by [the] people^{^[13]}.	6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.	6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.	6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.	6 But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people.	6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.	7) ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι σκώληξ καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ὄνειδος ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἐξουδένημα λαοῦ.	6 But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of men, and scorn of the people.
ח כָּל רֹאַי יַלְעִגוּ לִי יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה יָנִיעוּ רֹאשׁ.	7 All those who see me mock^{^[14]} at me, they burst out^{^[15]} with [their] mouth, they shake the head,	7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,	7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,	7 All who see me mock me; they ~~make~~ mouths at me; they wag their heads;	7 All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,	7 All who see me mock me; they hurl ~~insults~~, shaking their heads:	8) πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντές με ἐξεμυκτήρισάν^{^[16]} με, ~~ἐλάλησαν~~ ἐν χείλεσιν, ἐκίνησαν κεφαλήν	7 All that saw me mocked me: they ~~spoke~~ with their lips, they shook the head, saying,
ט גֹּל אֶל יְהוָה יְפַלְּטֵהוּ יַצִּילֵהוּ כִּי חָפֵץ בּוֹ.	8 “Roll yourself ^{^[17]} to Yahweh! He will deliver him; He will cause him to escape because He has delighted in him,	8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.	8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"	8 "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"	8 "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."	8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."	9) Ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν· σωσάτω αὐτόν, ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν.	8 He hoped in the Lord: ~~let~~ ~~him~~ [should read “He will”] deliver him, let him save him, because he takes pleasure in him.
י כִּי אַתָּה גֹחִי מִבָּטֶן מַבְטִיחִי עַל שְׁדֵי אִמִּי.	9 because^{^[18]} You are the one who [made] me burst out^{^[19]} from the womb, causing me to trust upon the breasts of my mother.	9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.	9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts.	9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust [you] at my mother's breasts.	9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts.	9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust [in you even] at my mother's breast.	10) ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐκσπάσας^{^[20]} με ἐκ γαστρός, ἡ ἐλπίς^{^[21]} μου ἀπὸ μαστῶν τῆς μητρός μου·	9 For thou art he that drew me out of the womb; my hope from my mother's breasts.
יא עָלֶיךָ הָשְׁלַכְתִּי מֵרָחֶם מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אֵלִי אָתָּה.	10 You are the one I was sent to since birth^{^[22]}. Since [I was in] the womb of my mother You have been my God.	10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.	10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God.	10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.	10 Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb.	10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.	11) ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπερρίφην ἐκ μήτρας, ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου θεός μου εἶ σύ.	10 I was cast on thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
יב אַל תִּרְחַק מִמֶּנִּי כִּי צָרָה קְרוֹבָה כִּי אֵין עוֹזֵר.	11 Don’t be far away^{^[23]} from me, because a crisis is near because there is no helper^{^[24]}.	11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.	11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.	11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.	11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.	11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.	12) μὴ ἀποστῇς ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι θλῖψις ἐγγύς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ βοηθῶν.	11 Stand not aloof from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper.
יג סְבָבוּנִי פָּרִים רַבִּים אַבִּירֵי בָשָׁן ^{^[25]}כִּתְּרוּנִי.	12 Many young bulls have surrounded^{^[26]} me; mighty bulls of Bashan circled me.	12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.	12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.	12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;	12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.	12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.	13) περιεκύκλωσάν με μόσχοι^{^[27]} πολλοί, ταῦροι πίονες^{^[28]} περιέσχον με·	12 Many bullocks have compassed me: fat bulls have beset me round.
יד פָּצוּ עָלַי פִּיהֶם אַרְיֵה טֹרֵף וְשֹׁאֵג.	13 They opened^{^[29]} their mouth against me [like] a lion ripping and roaring	13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.	13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.	13 they open wide their mouths at me, [like] a ravening and roaring lion.	13 They open wide their mouth at me, [As] a ravening and a roaring lion.	13 Roaring lions X tearing [their prey] open their mouths wide against me.	14) ἤνοιξαν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ τὸ στόμα αὐτῶν [ὡς] λέων ὁ ἁρπάζων^{^[30]} καὶ ὠρυόμενος.	13They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion.
טו כַּמַּיִם נִשְׁפַּכְתִּי וְהִתְפָּרְדוּ כָּל עַצְמוֹתָי הָיָה לִבִּי כַּדּוֹנָג נָמֵס בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי.	14 I am poured out like water^{^[31]}, and all my bones separate themselves; my heart became like wax. It was melted between my inestines.	14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.	14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me X.	14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;	14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me X.	14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me X.	15) ὡσεὶ ὕδωρ ἐξεχύθην, καὶ διεσκορπίσθη^{^[32]} πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου, ἐγενήθη ἡ καρδία μου ὡσεὶ κηρὸς τηκόμενος ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου·	14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are loosened: my heart in the midst of my belly is become like melting wax.
טז יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ כֹּחִי וּלְשׁוֹנִי מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָי וְלַעֲפַר מָוֶת תִּשְׁפְּתֵנִי.	15 My strength dried up like pottery, and my tongue ^{^[33]} is caused to be stuck to my palate^{^[34]}, and you will set me up for the dust of death^{^[35]}.	15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.	15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.	15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.	15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.	15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.	16) ἐξηράνθη ὡς ὄστρακον ἡ ἰσχύς μου, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά μου κεκόλληται τῷ λάρυγγί μου, καὶ εἰς χοῦν θανάτου κατήγαγές με.	15 My strength is dried up, like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death.
יז כִּי סְבָבוּנִי כְּלָבִים עֲדַת מְרֵעִים הִקִּיפוּנִי כָּאֲרִי יָדַי וְרַגְלָי.	16 For dogs^{^[36]} have surrounded me – a crowd of hoodlums close in around me. They pierced^{^[37]} my hands and my feet.	16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.	16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;	16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet--	16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.	16 X Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.	17) ὅτι ἐκύκλωσάν με κύνες ~~πολλοί^{^[38]}~~, συναγωγὴ πονηρευομένων περιέσχον με, ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας.	16 For ~~many~~ dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet.
יח אֲסַפֵּר כָּל עַצְמוֹתָי הֵמָּה יַבִּיטוּ יִרְאוּ בִי.	17 I will carefully count all my bones; As for them, they will take a look – they will see^{^[39]} with me.	17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.	17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.	17 I can count all my bones-- they stare [and] gloat over me;	17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;	17 I can count all my bones; people stare [and] gloat over me.	18) ἐξηρίθμησα^{^[40]} πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου, αὐτοὶ δὲ κατενόησαν^{^[41]} καὶ ἐπεῖδόν X με.	17 They counted all my bones; and they observed and looked [upon] me.
יט יְחַלְּקוּ בְגָדַי לָהֶם וְעַל לְבוּשִׁי יַפִּילוּ גוֹרָל.	18 They will divvy up my garments for themselves, and they will roll dice over my clothing^{^[42]}.	18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.	18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.	18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.	18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.	18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.	19) διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον^{^[43]} κλῆρον.	18 They parted my garments among themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

^{^[1]} Everywhere else in the Bible that these Hebrew words Ayyelah/Ayyelet and Shachar occur (and they do occur 10-20 other places in the Bible), they are translated “Deer/Hind/ Doe” and “morning/daybreak/dawn” (respectively) in our English Bibles. The NIV suggests that “the Deer of the Dawn” was a popular folk tune that David wrote these words to fit, much like the hymn we just sang is set to a tune about a girl who was the “Star of the County Down,” but it was matched to the words of Psalm 22, so we called it, “My God My God Oh Why Have You Forsaken Me?” However, the ancient Greek translations interpreted the word in this Psalm to mean “early morning help/aid,” which this Psalm certainly seems to call for as characteristic of God’s work. On the other hand, most commentators think that these two words occurring together in this Psalm (and which do not occur together anywhere else in the Bible) refer to some kind of musical instrument. Perhaps that’s why the KJV and NAS just transliterated the Hebrew instead of translating it.

^{^[2]} The second half of this verse is somewhat difficult to translate. Most English translations repeat the words “Why are you,” even though those words are not repeated in the original. The Hebrew is literally “far from my salvation words of my groaning” - or “roaring” - I have heard lions make noises at zoos which sounded very much like a loud groan from a man. It is very much like the opening of Psalm 10:1 “Why, Yahweh, will You stand in [the] distance [and] ignore [things] at times that include trouble?” (NAW) (Isaiah 5:29-30 uses this word in synonymous parallelism with נהם, a “roaring” done by lions as well as by the sea.)

^{^[3]} cf. Aquilla elafou thV orqrinhV « the levity of the early morning », Symmachus: bohqeiaV thV orqrinhV "the timely help of the early morning" (Glosses from Arndt & Gingrich’s Lexicon; Greek quotes from Field’s reconstruction of Origen’s Hexapla)

^{^[4]} This dumiyyah is a cessation from activity. David is saying that there is no end to the turmoil, no end to the groaning, and no confidence that God had heard is going to take care of it, so the need to keep calling out to God seems urgent. There is not even the feeling that God has answered in such a way that the supplicant is free to end his prayers. Some of the ways this word has been used previous to this psalm include Aaron’s response of holding his peace after God had sent fire from heaven to destroy his sons Nadab and Abihu for disobeying God’s instructions on how a priest should offer incense. Immediately God sent a prophet to explain to Aaron why his sons had been struck dead, and Leviticus 10:3 tells us that after this explanation Aaron had dumiyyah before God. Job likewise mentions this kind of dumiyyah peace: Job 29:21 “Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.” NKJV (cf. Job 30:27 for a literal application where not having dumiyyah in the bowels is diarrhea). Earlier in Psalm 4:4 we saw an exhortation to have this kind of silence: “...stop sinning! Speak into your heart upon your bed, and be still... Y’all should sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness and trust to Yahweh.” (NAW). Later on, Isaiah 6:5 also mentions this kind of silence, struck dumb with awe in the presence of God and realizing that his sin left him with no right to speak to God. “Woe to me!, For I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips I am dwelling, For my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts!” (NAW)

^{^[5]} The Masoretic pointing indicates a break in grammar between “holy” and “sitting,” yet the BHS puts a space between “sitting” and “praises,” as though the break is supposed to go there instead. The NIV follows the latter. The LXX, which was made long before the Masoretic pointing, while preserving the Hebrew word order, seems to connect “sitting” with “holy” rather than with “praises” in its grammar. The word “sitting” is active, not passive, so He is “sitting” not “being made to sit” – the word “throne” is not actually in the Hebrew here, but the sense of sitting on the throne is not inaccurate, since, in Hebrew, “sitting” was not a posture symbolic of rest but rather a posture symbolic of leadership. At the same time, there seems to be a contrast between the distraught and suffering David in vs.2-3 and the calm, seated God in v.4. God doesn’t have to be anxious just because you’re anxious.

^{^[6]} Nowhere else in the Bible does it speak of God “inhabiting/being enthroned” in our praises, so I interpret this to be a poetic picture of how God receives and even enjoys praise from His people and how He also uses our words and hymns of praise to fulfill His purposes on earth. We saw this earlier as part of a prayer request in Psalm 9:13-14 “Yahweh, see my misery [caused by] those who hate me. Be gracious to me by raising me up away from the gates of death, in order that I may recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice in Your salvation.” We also see it in the New Testament, where the Apostle Peter wrote, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV). It’s almost like David lifts his eyes and sees the bigger picture for a moment – that his suffering isn’t all there is, that God is still on the throne, and that the goal of this horrible experience is ultimately to bring praise to God. This leads David to a further thought: throughout history, people have trusted God through all kinds of hardships before!

^{^[7]} This reads “in the holy ones,” as does the Greek version by Symmachus, but at least one Greek version renders it singular “the holy,” which is the basis for Brenton’s translation “sanctuary” (i.e. “holy [place]”).

^{^[8]} e.g. Ex. 2:23, Judges 3:9 &15, 6:6-7, 10:10, and 1 Sam 7:8, 12:8. Just as God did in the past, He promises to hear your cries now and in the future: Isaiah 30:19b ...He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; as He hears, He will answer you.” (NAW)

^{^[9]} Most of the pre-psalm references to “our fathers” refer to the nation of Israel during the time of the Exodus, for example, Numbers 20:15-16, “...our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt...” (NKJV, cf. 1 Kings 8) Think about the many times that the Israelites trusted in God and experienced deliverance during that time: the cries for salvation by Israelites falling under the whips of Egyptian slavemasters, the trust it took to follow the renegade prince Moses suddenly out of the strongest nation in the world, the panicked cries to God as Pharoah’s army bore down upon them after they were pinned up against the Red Sea, the parched lips that cried out to God from the middle of the dessert for water to drink, the famished children who cried out to God for food, the panicked cries for help as they were being bitten by poisonous snakes. Time after time after time, when they cried out to God, He delivered them. Whenever you are not sure if you can trust God through the problem you are facing now, look back to those fathers of old and remind yourself of how God answered their prayers and delivered them. Let that strengthen your faith to trust God in the here and now. God has not changed; He still does this kind of thing, even though He often allows a season of suffering first. That even happened to the Apostle Paul, who wrote to Timothy: “...what persecutions I endured, but then the Lord delivered me out of all of them” (2 Timothy 3:10-11, NAW).

^{^[10]} Contrast with Psalm 6:10 “All my enemies will experience shame and be in a major panic. In a moment they will turn, ashamed.” (NAW) “Shame/disappointment” is the opposite of “trust.” Those who trust the LORD will not be shaken. Isaiah put it this way: “the Lord Jehovah will help me, therefore I will not be humiliated, therefore I have set my face like the flint and I will know that I will not be shamed. My justifier is near...” (Isa. 50:7-8, NAW, cf. Isa. 54:4)

^{^[11]} Every verse in this Psalm up to this point in Hebrew started with the word “You” – focused on God. Now the focus turns to the psalmist himself. This is often the experience of the worshipper. We start our prayers because we’ve got a little bit of a beef with God – something didn’t go the way we wanted. Then, as we begin to pray, we get a glimpse of how holy God is, and that causes us to turn from our self-righteous criticism of God to confess our sin before God. This is normal. David calls himself a “worm,” quoting the book of Job, “How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?” (Job 25:4-6, NKJV) But there is hope for sinners who are as lowly as worms in the sight of the holy God: “Fear not, I myself help you. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you sorry lot of Israel! I am the one who helps you,” declares Jehovah; “your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:13b-14, NAW)

^{^[12]} David had his share of experiences of being despised. 1 Sam 17:42 tells us that when Goliath saw David coming against him, he “despised” David, and later on David’s own wife “despised” him for praising God wholeheartedly (1 Chron 15:29). But thus it is for all who follow God faithfully. The Apostle Paul wrote that, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12, NKJV) There will be times when people say how despicable we are. The prophets of old experienced it too: “...they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16, NKJV). The faithful reconstruction Jews experienced it when they returned from Babylon and rebuilt Jerusalem. Sanballat and Tobias the Samaritans ridiculed them and tried to get them in trouble with the emperor (Neh. 2:19). Isaiah even uses the same word to describe what Jesus experienced on the cross: “He was despised and was the One rejected of men – a sorrowing man also known by grief. And like one from whom there is hiding of faces, He was despised and we did not give Him consideration. Surely our griefs He Himself carried, and our sorrows, He bore them. Yet we, we considered Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. However, He was being pierced from our rebellion – beaten from our iniquity. Chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes there is healing for us.” (Isa. 53:3-6, NAW)

^{^[13]} I don’t think Hebrew uses the word “people” in the general sense of modern English to mean “everybody,” I think it usually refers to an ethnic group, here, perhaps, the Jewish people.

^{^[14]} cf. ...when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?" Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall." (Nehemiah 4:1-3 NKJV) Shaking the head is associated with this mocking in 2 Kings 19:21.

^{^[15]} This is a rare verb occurring only 4 other times in the O.T. (1 Sam. 19:10; 1 Chron. 9:33; 2 Chron. 23:8; Prov. 17:14), and none in a similar context as this. I suspect it is some kind of sound or derisive speech uttered while shaking the head, much like we click our tongues or say “Um, Um, Um,” while shaking our heads today. Cf. Job 16:4b “...If I were in your place, I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you” and Lamentations 2:15 “All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads At the daughter of Jerusalem...” and Zeph. 2:15b “...How has she become a desolation... Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.” (NKJV)

^{^[16]} Sym. epefqegxantu - speak loudly & bombastically over a subject

^{^[17]} Mocking often comes in the form of repeating words someone just said. Do you remember how it felt when someone did that to you? “I’m going to tell Mama. I’m going to tell Mama. Stop! Stop! Quit copying me. Quit copying me....” The first word in this verse is an imperative spelling, so the NASB is correct: “Commit yourself to the LORD,” or literally “Roll yourself toward Yahweh,” but most versions (including the Vulgate and Septuagint which are much older than the Masoretic Hebrew) interpret it as an indicative, “He trusts/trusted in the LORD.” Interpreting it more literally as an imperative would make sense if this is a quote of what the mockers said. Although this is not an exact quote of anything the Bible quotes of David, it is nevertheless along the lines of quotes we have from David, for instance in Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 37:3-5 “Trust in the LORD, and do good... Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (NKJV) and Psalm 18:19b “...He will snatch me away because He delights in me.” (NAW, cf. Psalm 7:1)

^{^[18]} The first half of this verse starts with a Hebrew ki (“for/because/since”) just like the second half of v.8, so it seems to be a continuation of the statement in v.8. If v.8 is a quote of what the taunters were saying, then v.9 probably continues the quote, and it doesn’t seem consistent for English versions to translate the word as a causal “since/for/because” in v.8 and then three (Hebrew) words later as an adversative “But/yet.”

^{^[19]} This word only occurs 5 other times in the Bible, all but one with an obvious meaning of “burst out” – and half are in the context of the birth of a baby (Judges 20:33; Job 38:8; 40:23; Psalm 22:9; Ezekiel 32:2; Micah 4:10). The birth of a baby is an amazing thing. This child has been confined in this tight place between its mother’s lungs and pelvis for nine months, totally dependent upon an amazing temporary organ called the placenta to transfer all food and oxygen from the mother’s blood to its own. Then one day, suddenly the amniotic fluid bursts, and six to ten pounds of flesh and bone squirm through an aperture in the mother’s pelvic bone and out into the air. This motion causes the baby’s chest to compress and release in what it called the fetal Heimlich, resulting in a radical change in the baby’s respiratory system as its little lungs inflate for the first time with air and begin to supply oxygen to its own blood as the umbilical cord is cut and the baby becomes independent of the placenta. However, the neonate is still utterly unable to provide food for itself; it is still completely dependent on God to provide food, and God provides through the mother’s breasts, which are yet another absolutely-amazing design system capable of delivering not only food and nutrients but also hormones and immunities dynamically according to the changing needs of that specific child each day. Now, at birth, an infant understands only a fraction of all this; there is just a simple trust, “When I cry, Mama will take care of me.” As time goes on, Mommy and Daddy, if they know God, will explain that their care for baby is actually God’s care for that baby through their human agency as parents, and that there is a God to whom baby is accountable to trust and obey, so that when baby grows up into a man, he can say that it was God all along who sustained him from his earliest days in his mother’s womb and that his parents had dedicated him to the LORD, casting him upon God’s care ultimately, and he can confess, “Jesus is my Lord!” This process was true of David; it was true of David’s “greater son” Jesus, and it can be true of you and your children today – a seamless transfer of trust from parents to Jesus. I won’t say that the transfer isn’t bumpy sometimes, and I’m not saying that it is accomplished by mere human effort – there is no saving faith without the regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit, but the goal is for each of our children to say, “You have been my God ever since I was conceived!” That is why we do infant dedications or baptisms – to show that this goal is possible and it is important.

^{^[20]} Symmachus & Aquilla both rendered this verb palaiwn “You exist from of old.” I would guess that their characteristically-Jewish focus on God’s transcendence did not allow them to consider God being involved in the messy business of birth.

^{^[21]} According to Kittel, the Cairo Hebrew manuscript and the ancient translation into Syriac also render this verb as a noun. The Vulgate does too, but that’s because Jerome followed the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text.

^{^[22]} Rachem is clearly a synonym for beten, as they stand in parallel in this verse. The latter term seems to emphasize the placement in the mother’s abdomen, whereas the former seems to emphasize the physiological passages between the mother’s ovaries and the outside world.

^{^[23]} In v.1, the psalmist complained that his savior was far away – or at least it felt like it. Here he issues a command to God not to get too far away, a command repeated later on in v.19 (and again in Psalms 35:22; 38:21; 71:12) and he offers two reasons, first that “trouble/crisis” is near, and second that there is no “helper.”

^{^[24]} This word “helper” only occurs in one other place in the Psalms, where it is clearly stated that the LORD is the helper: Psalm 10:14 “You saw, for You Yourself will take a look at trouble and grief in order to take charge. To You the weakest will abandon himself; [to the] orphan You Yourself have been a helper.” (NAW) In the context of the assertion that the LORD is the helper, I think Psalm 22:11 is making the case that there is no one else but God who is a helper, therefore, if God abandons me, there will be no one left to help, so that’s why God must remain near. I need help and God is the only one who can provide that help. This is significant. When you suffer, you need to see that nothing else but God can truly help you. Not drugs, not other people, not technology, not your alliances. Sure, you can employ all these things lawfully, but they are not ultimately the solution for you. The author of Hebrews reminds us that God Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU." So we may boldly say: "THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?" (Hebrews 13:5-6, NKJV) Furthermore, the Apostle Paul explains how we are brought near to God in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (NKJV) so we can assert, as he did in Philippians 4:5b-7 “the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but rather in everything by prayer and by petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known before God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NAW)

^{^[25]} Rare word, only found here and Judges 20:43; Job 36:2; Psalm 142:7; Proverbs 14:18; and Habakkuk 1:4.

^{^[26]} cf. Psalm 17:9b “...As for my enemies, with aspiration they form a circle over me... 11. As for our steps, now they have surrounded me... 12 ...like a lion longing to tear...” (NAW) Psalm 18:4-5 “Pains of death drowned me, and torrents of worthlesness would overwhelm me, Pains of Sheol surrounded me; deadly noose-snares confronted me.” (NAW) Bashan was SE of the Sea of Galilee in modern-day Jordan, and it had a reputation for growing things big – like Texas. It was where some of the last giants lived (Deut. 3:11-13), and it also grew famously-big oak trees (Isa. 2:13), so the bulls of Bashan would also have been particularly big. Now, a bull is a powerful creature; cowboys learn to have a healthy respect for those animals. The clown at the rodeo that gets in there with the bull, I have been told, is very careful and experienced, and when the bull starts going after one cowboy, you notice all the cowboys in the ring work together urgently to get their buddy to safety fast. Now, this is an analogy of sorts, since David wasn’t primarily working with cattle, he was a freedom fighter. He’s describing a situation where he’s surrounded by enemy soldiers, and it looks like certain death.

^{^[27]} Aquilla: damaloi “cows” (cf. Amos 4:1), then dunestai “mighty ones” instead of tauroi “bulls”

^{^[28]} Aquilla: Basan “Bashan,” Symmachus: sitistoi “fattened”

^{^[29]} There are a few other places in Scripture where people opened their mouths in the same way in order to say something: Jdg_11:35 Jepthah “opened his mouth” by making a promise to God, Job “opened his mouth” to talk to God and to his friends about his suffering (Job 35:16), and in Lam. 2:16 & 3:46 “enemies open their mouths against us [they hiss and gnash their teeth],” so it’s possible that these people opened their mouths merely to say devastating things to David. On the other hand, David and his mighty men (2 Sam 23:20) fought real wild lions too, and when David came up against Goliath, he had to remind folks that he had faced a lion before (1Sa 17:37), so he could trust God to help him face off against the giant. In earlier psalms – like Psalm 7 – David compared wicked men to lions who relentlessly stalk the weak and maim and kill without compunction. (Psalm 7:1 Yahweh, my God, in You I have taken refuge. Cause to save me from all my pursuers, and cause to deliver me. Otherwise he will tear my soul apart like a lion rips, and there will be no deliverer.” cf. 17:12 the wicked “like a lion”). Jesus also faced devastating words of mockery while hanging on the cross: “...those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.” (Mark 15:29-32, NKJV)

^{^[30]} The Septuagint word has to do with “stealing/snatching/dragging away.” Aquilla renders it aliskwn “polluted?,” and Symmachus: qhreuwn “wild;” both render the second word bruxwmenoV “teeth-gnashing” instead of “roaring.”

^{^[31]} We see similar phrases of pouring water being like prayer in Job 3:24b “...my groanings flow like water,” and Lamentations 2:19, “Arise, cry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him For the life of your young children, Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” (NKJV) But the rest of the phrases in this verse are unique; nowhere else in the Bible do we see bones separating out of joint or hearts melting like wax, although there are a few other passages about hearts melting with dismay before the wrath of God, such as Ezekiel 21:12, “Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,” says the Lord GOD. The situation David describes sounds like either a desperate soldier about to be killed and terrified of death, or perhaps like a man convicted of sin and coming undone over the terror of the wrath of God against sin. David experienced both. Jesus also experienced the terror of the wrath of God against sin, and the suffering he endured on the cross would have put bones out of joint – although notice they were never broken (John 19:36), and the Gospels indicate that He suffered tremendous thirst on the cross as well (John 19:38).

^{^[32]} Symmachus: diesth “part”

^{^[33]} Job 29:10 & Ezek 3:26 speak of the “tongue” being “stuck” as “refraining from saying” anything, but in Lamentations 4:4 it is expressly connected with “thirst.”

^{^[34]} Everywhere else this word occurs in the Bible, it is translated “prey/plunder” and not “jaws/roof of the mouth.” I’m not sure what to make of that except that the Septuagint reads “larynx,” which would support the latter interpretation.

^{^[35]} This is a rare verb, only occurring three other places in the Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings 4:38; Isaiah 26:12; and Ezekiel 24:3, two of which describe setting a pot to boil over a fire. The phrase “dust of death” does not occur anywhere else in the Bible, but it does seem to be a poetic expression of the statement God made early on to Adam, “dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return” (Genesis 3:19, KJV, cf. Psalm 104:29 & Ecclesiastes 12:7) – he was made out of dirt, and now that he had sinned, he would die and turn back into dirt.

^{^[36]} The picture of bulls surrounding him in v.12 changes to being surrounded by dogs. Dogs were wild scavenger animals that preyed upon the weak, more like coyotes than pets. Their strength is in numbers; a pack of wild dogs could easily finish off a weak and dying man. These dogs seem to be equated with an association of wicked men. Compared to the bulls that seemed to represent mighty warriors that threatened his life at first, these are more like hoodlums bent on finishing a weak man off and stealing what there is to steal.

^{^[37]} Non-Messianic Jews have a hard time with this passage, for instance the editor of the Jewish Soncino Bible commentary wrote, “The Hebrew is difficult...” The reason is that the prophecy of Jesus’ death on the cross is all too clear, but that would destroy their Judaism to admit that Jesus was the Messiah, so they seek another meaning. Here is an instance where Christians have rejected the reading of the traditional Masoretic text in favor of a different reading found in the much more ancient Septuagint and Vulgate versions. The Hebrew text reads “like a lion my hands and my feet,” which doesn’t even make any sense (To make sense of it, the Targums add the verb “biting,” and Kimchi more modestly supplies an extra copy of the first verb in the verse - “surrounding”), but the older Greek and Latin versions read, “they pierced my hands and my feet,” which makes a lot of sense in light of Jesus’ death on the cross. This raises the question of whether or not the original word was actually “pierced” and was preserved in these early translations of the Hebrew Bible and whether or not Jews purposefully changed the letters of this word in the Hebrew text after the time of Christ. One clue can be found in the translations made by Jews in the second century AD of the Hebrew Bible into Greek in an attempt to replace the Septuagint. Around the year 150, two men named Aquilla and Symmachus independently re-translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek because they didn’t like the way the Christians were using the Septuagint to show that Jesus fulfilled prophecy. When we look at how these second-century Jews translated Psalm 22:16, we see that they used the Greek verb epedhsan, which I think would be translated into English, “they... lay bare my hands and my feet.” Aquilla and Symmachus were both rather wooden in their translating style and would not have stretched so far as to change the noun “lion” into the verb “lay bare,” so that would indicate that at the year 150, the Hebrew text might not have had the word “lion” like it does now, and that is mighty suspicious. Now, to their credit, it does not seem that the Masorite Jews have tampered much with the Hebrew Bible, but this is one of the few places where this seems to be the case. By and large, Christians follow the reading of the Septuagint here, “They pierced my hands and my feet.”

^{^[38]} Although “many” is not in the Masoretic Hebrew text, it is in the Targums and Septuagint (and the Vulgate which consciously followed the Septuagint). Symmachus & Aquilla render qhretai “wild animals?” instead of “dogs.”

^{^[39]} Counting bones is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but “seeing” bones is in two places: Job 33:21 and Ezekiel 39:15. Is this a takeoff on Job 33 to see bones that can’t normally be seen, perhaps due to malnutrition which pulls the skin tight against the bones to make the bones visible? I don’t know.

^{^[40]} Aquilla: yhfizw “count up”

^{^[41]} Symmachus: eneblepon “look into”

^{^[42]} Again, nowhere else in the Old Testament is there any mention of “casting lots/apportioning” “garments/clothing.” It is reasonable to assume that this is what hoodlums would do if they found some nice clothes on a dying man – strip the body of anything valuable and divide it among themselves. But the one place in the Bible where we see this actually happening is at the cross, where Jesus’ seamless tunic was considered to be of some value to the soldiers who crucified him, so they cast lots to see who would get the whole tunic (Matt. 27:35).

^{^[43]} Symmachus: elagxanon