Psalm 22

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

2 My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.

7 All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,

8 “He trusts in the LORD. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”

9 But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.

10 I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me.

11 Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

13 They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.

14 I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.

17 I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me.

18 They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.

19 But don’t be far off, LORD. You are my help. Hurry to help me!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard.

25 My praise of you comes in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him.

26 The humble shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the LORD who seek after him. Let your hearts live forever.

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.

28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s. He is the ruler over the nations.

29 All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord.

31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.

Around Psalm 22

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes