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Psalm 22
EasyEnglish Bible

The leader must use the music called ‘The Deer of the Dawn.’

This is a song that David wrote.

Please help me, God!

22 My God!
My God, why have you left me alone?
    Why is my help far away?
    I am crying out in great pain!
2 My God!
I call aloud to you for help every day,
    all day and all night!
But you do not answer my prayers,
    so I cannot sleep.
3 I know that you are the Holy God.
You sit on your throne as king,
    and Israel's people praise you.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you.
    When they trusted you, you saved them.
5 They called aloud to you and you saved them.
They trusted in you,
    and you did not disappoint them.[a]

6 People insult me.
    They think that I am worth nothing.
It seems that I am only a worm,
    and I am not really a man.
7 Everyone that sees me laughs at me.
They laugh and they shake their heads.
8 They say, ‘He should trust in the Lord!
    The Lord should save him.
If the Lord is really happy with him,
    the Lord should rescue him.’

9 Lord, you brought me safely to birth.
    You took care of me at my mother's breasts.
10 From the day that I was born,
    I have always been in your care.
You have been my God since my mother gave birth to me.
11     So do not stay far from me now.
Trouble is near to me,
    and there is nobody to help me.
12 There is danger all round me,
    like the strong bulls of Bashan.[b]
I cannot move
    because my enemies are very near, all around me.
13 They open their mouths like lions!
    They are ready to eat me!
They are like lions that tear their food into pieces.
14 My strength has gone,
    like water that is poured away.
My bones do not join together properly.
I feel weak inside
    and hope has disappeared.
15 My mouth has become dry like a piece of a broken pot.
    My tongue sticks to my mouth.
You have left me down in the dirt,
    as good as dead!

16 Wicked people are everywhere around me.
They are ready to attack me,
    like a group of wild dogs.
They tear apart my hands and my feet.
17 My body is so weak
    I can count all my bones.
My enemies look at me and they laugh.
    They are happy because I have pain.
18 They have taken my clothes,
    and they choose what they want for themselves.
They throw dice to decide who receives each piece.

19 But Lord, please do not stay far away from me!
You can make me strong again.
    Please hurry to help me!
20 Keep me safe!
My enemies want to kill me with their swords.
Save my life from those wild dogs!
21 Do not let those lions eat me!
Keep me safe from the horns of those wild bulls!
I know that you have answered my prayer!

22 I will tell my people how great you are.
    I will praise you when we meet together.
23 Everyone who serves the Lord must praise him!
    All Jacob's descendants must respect him!
Yes, all Israel's people must worship him!
24 God did not forget to help the man who was in pain.
    He did not turn away from the one who suffered.
When he called to God for help,
    God answered his prayer.[c]

25 Yes, I will praise you, God,
    in the great meeting of your people.
I will give to you what I have promised to give.
    Everyone who serves you, Lord, will see that.
26 Poor people will have plenty of food to eat.
Those who come to the Lord will praise him.
    May God help you to live well for ever!
27 People everywhere in the world will respect the Lord.
    They will turn to him for help.
Families from all nations will worship you.
28 The Lord rules as king over all the nations.
29 All the rich people on earth will bend down,
    and they will worship God.
Everyone will die one day.
    They must all bend down in front of God.
Nobody can keep himself alive.
30 Our children will also serve God.
    And they will tell their children about our Lord.
31 They will speak about all the great things that God has done
    to save his people.
People who have not yet been born
    will learn about the things that God has done.[d]

Footnotes

  1. 22:5 David thinks that God has forgotten him. But David remembered that God had helped his ancestors. So David does not understand why God has not helped him.
  2. 22:12 Bashan was a place that had very strong bulls.
  3. 22:24 In this Psalm, David talks about himself as ‘the man who was in pain’. David prayed and God answered him. Later, Jesus was also in pain, on the cross. When Jesus prayed, God answered him too.
  4. 22:31 Verses 27-31 tell us about what will happen one day because God is King of the whole earth.
Listen to Psalm 22
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Psalm 22
New International Version

Psalm 22[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(A)
    Why are you so far(B) from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?(C)
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(D)
    by night,(E) but I find no rest.[b]

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(F)
    you are the one Israel praises.[c](G)
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.(H)
5 To you they cried out(I) and were saved;
    in you they trusted(J) and were not put to shame.(K)

6 But I am a worm(L) and not a man,
    scorned by everyone,(M) despised(N) by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;(O)
    they hurl insults,(P) shaking their heads.(Q)
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.(R)
Let him deliver him,(S)
    since he delights(T) in him.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;(U)
    you made me trust(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(W) I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,(X)
    for trouble is near(Y)
    and there is no one to help.(Z)

12 Many bulls(AA) surround me;(AB)
    strong bulls of Bashan(AC) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AD) that tear their prey(AE)
    open their mouths wide(AF) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;(AH)
    it has melted(AI) within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,(AJ)
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(AK)
    you lay me in the dust(AL) of death.

16 Dogs(AM) surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce[e](AN) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare(AO) and gloat over me.(AP)
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots(AQ) for my garment.(AR)

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(AS)
    You are my strength;(AT) come quickly(AU) to help me.(AV)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(AW)
    my precious life(AX) from the power of the dogs.(AY)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(AZ)
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BA)

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

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(BK)
    before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.(BL)
26 The poor will eat(BM) and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—(BN)
    may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth(BO)
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,(BP)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(BQ)
    and he rules over the nations.

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

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
  2. Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
  3. Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
  4. Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
  5. Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
  6. Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him
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