Psalms · 31 verses
Psalms 22
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
The threat reaches its strangest turn at the horns of the wild oxen, where the speaker says the answer came—not after the danger, but there.
A cry surroundedvv. 1–21
The psalm opens beneath the unexplained title “The Doe of the Dawn,” with a cry from someone who has prayed by day and night and received no rest. The speaker remembers fathers who trusted and were delivered, then contrasts them with his own humiliation: a worm, mocked, sneered at, and told to let the LORD rescue him if He truly delights in him. From birth, however, he has belonged to God, so the plea returns: do not be far away now that trouble is near. Bulls, lions, dogs, evil men, a sword, and wild oxen crowd the passage, while the body comes apart in an admirably thorough catalogue. Even the garments are divided by lot. Then comes the curious reversal: the mouth of the lion is still dangerous, but at the horns of the wild oxen the answer arrives.
The cry becomes an assemblyvv. 22–31
Having been answered, the speaker does not keep the matter private. He will proclaim the name of the LORD to his brothers and praise Him in the assembly, calling descendants of Jacob and offspring of Israel to honor Him. The afflicted one has not been despised: the LORD attended to his cry. From there the circle widens splendidly—first the poor, then the ends of the earth, then every family of the nations, the rich, the dead, and even those unable to preserve their lives. All kneel; posterity takes up the tale and tells it to a people not yet born.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Ps 22:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “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, so far from my words of groaning?
Ps 22:2I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
Ps 22:3Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Ps 22:4In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.
Ps 22:5They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
Ps 22:6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
Ps 22:7All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
Ps 22:8“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
Ps 22:9Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
Ps 22:10From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
Ps 22:11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Ps 22:12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Ps 22:13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
Ps 22:14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
Ps 22:15My 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.
Ps 22:16For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
Ps 22:17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
Ps 22:18They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
Ps 22:19But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
Ps 22:20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
Ps 22:21Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
Ps 22:22I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
Ps 22:23You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
Ps 22:24For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
Ps 22:25My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.
Ps 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
Ps 22:28For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.
Ps 22:29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.
Ps 22:30Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
Ps 22:31They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 383 passages were voted onto 31 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 1Mark 15:34At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- 1Matthew 27:46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- 18Matthew 27:35When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.
- 16John 19:37And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
- 24Hebrews 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
- 8Matthew 27:42–43“He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.
- 16Zechariah 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- 18Luke 23:34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.
- 6Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- 15John 19:28After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
- 9Psalms 71:6I have leaned on You since birth; You pulled me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always for You.
- 27Psalms 86:9All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- 3Deuteronomy 10:21He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
- 3Psalms 50:23He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rightly orders his way, I will show the salvation of God.”
- 18Mark 15:24And they crucified Him. They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take.
- 18John 19:23–24When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
Onward