Psalms 22

My God, why have you forsaken me

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?a ²My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.b ³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.c

⁴In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. ⁵To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. ⁶But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.d

⁷All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.e ⁸“He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”f ⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.g

¹⁰From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.h ¹¹Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.i ¹²Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.j

¹³Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. ¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.k ¹⁵My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.l

¹⁶Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.m ¹⁷All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.n ¹⁸They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.o

¹⁹But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. ²⁰Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.p ²¹Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²²I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.q ²³You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! ²⁴For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.r

²⁵From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. ²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!s ²⁷All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,t ²⁸for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. ³⁰Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. ³¹They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!u