Psalm 21:2–19
21:2O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses
21:3My God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for me
21:4But you dwell in holiness, O Praise of Israel
21:5In you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed them
21:6They cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confounded
21:7But I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the people
21:8All those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the head
21:9He has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses him
21:10For you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my mother
21:11I have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my God
21:12Do not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help me
21:13Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged me
21:14They have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaring
21:15And 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
21:16My 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
21:17For many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feet
21:18They have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at me
21:19They divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lots
Atlas Psalm 22:1–18 uses a different psalm number and excludes the superscription from its verse count. Both display editions place the matching text at Psalm 21:2–19.
Editorial apparatus
Connections
1 typed link connect to this passage.
Matthew 27:35–46 - Crucifixion after Psalm 22
Matthew places the opening cry of Psalm 22 on Jesus's lips and echoes its mockery and divided garments. John explicitly applies the garment verse. The wording about hands and feet varies across textual traditions and is not directly quoted in the New Testament.
Sources & review
- Interpretation
- quotation
- Principal basis
- Explicit New Testament application
- Review status
- source checked
- scripture
Ps 22
- scripture
Matt 27:35-46
- scripture
John 19:24
- catechism
Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church
Vatican English edition
Theological context for the cry of abandonment. It does not establish the disputed wording about hands and feet.
- commentary
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, New American Bible, Revised Edition
USCCB online Bible and notes
Supports the distinction between the opening quotation and other Passion allusions. The NABRE counts the superscription, shifting verse numbers relative to Atlas.
- church father
Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms
Exposition on Psalm 22, sections 1-2, 17-19
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, vol. 8 (New Advent)
Evidence of a Christian interpretation of the psalm, including the crucifixion and garments; it does not settle the Hebrew textual question.
- church father
Justin Martyr, First Apology
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (New Advent)
Justin explicitly applies the hands-and-feet wording to the cross. This is a later Christian application, distinct from a New Testament quotation.
- scholarly
Conrad R. Gren, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Piercing the Ambiguities of Psalm 22:16 and the Messiah's Mission, pp. 283-299
48/2 (2005)
Argues for a piercing reading and discusses Greek and Hebrew witnesses. This is one scholarly position, not a consensus finding.
- scholarly
Rivka Ulmer, The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation
Psalm 22 in Pesiqta Rabbati: The Suffering of the Jewish Messiah and Jesus, pp. 106-109
Purdue University Press (2011), author text hosted by the University of Arizona
Discusses differing readings of the Nahal Hever letters and Jewish and Christian reception. The manuscript discussion does not establish a universally accepted original reading.
- commentary
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, New American Bible, Revised Edition
USCCB online Bible and notes
Identifies the opening Psalm quotation and distinguishes the mockery's Psalm and Wisdom parallels.
Editorial questions
Accepted with qualification · textual variant
The received Hebrew wording is commonly rendered like a lion, while the ancient Greek has a digging expression. The Nahal Hever fragment and the reconstruction of its letters remain debated. CPDV reads pierced and DRC reads dug. The New Testament does not directly quote this disputed clause; the quotation warrant rests on Matthew's abandonment cry.
Editorial response: The explicit NT warrant rests on the abandonment cry, with separate garment parallels. The hands-and-feet wording varies across textual traditions, is not directly quoted by the NT, and remains a textual question. CPDV and DRC are displayed as their own editions, not as adjudications of the original Hebrew.
Accepted with qualification · disputed dating
The stored 200 BC composition cutoff and 232-year interval are editorial estimates; the textual witnesses discussed here do not establish that exact cutoff.
Editorial response: The 200 BC cutoff is retained as an editorial composition estimate. The displayed interval is conditional on that estimate, not a manuscript-secured minimum; this qualification is visible in the connection's time explanation.