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Psalms 22:12–21, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 22:12–21
Forsaken cry becomes public praise: Animal images, bodily collapse, and urgent rescue
Bulls, lions, dogs: a body under animal force
Many bulls surround him, strong bulls of Bashan. They open their mouths like a ravening, roaring lion. He is poured out like water; all his bones are out of joint; his heart is like wax, melted in his inmost parts.
Strength is dried up like a potsherd; the tongue sticks to the jaws; God lays him in the dust of death. The images are a hunted body, not a medical chart and not a shame verdict.
A staring circle, divided clothes, and a cry for haste
Dogs surround him; a company of evildoers encircles him. Hands and feet are threatened in contested Hebrew; later readers hear a passion scene. This unit is still an Israelite body enclosed by a pack.
He can count his bones; they stare and gloat. They divide his garments and cast lots for his clothing. The prayer that holds the images together is urgent: be not far, O LORD; O my help, come quickly. Deliver the soul from the sword, the only life from the power of the dog, from the lion's mouth, from the horns of wild oxen. Rescue is asked. Recovery is not scheduled, and the body is not blamed.
How this should shape us
Name predatory force without turning the sufferer's body into a puzzle or a sermon against him. Ask God to come near the dust. Do not use this segment as a revenge script or as a timetable.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 22:12–21 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 22 and Book I, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The psalm first voices an Israelite sufferer's lament and praise; New Testament reuse around Jesus is reception and fulfillment for Christians, not erasure of Jewish meaning.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 22:12–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 22:12–21
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 22:12–21.
Official NET Bible Psalm 22 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 22:12–21
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 22:12–21
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 22 for Psalms 22:12–21
Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.
WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 22:12–21
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 22:12–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 22:12–21
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 22:12–21.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 22 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 22:12–21
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 22:12–21
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 22 for Psalms 22:12–21
Open NETS Psalms ↗public health communication guidance
Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023
World Health Organization
World Health Organization, 2023
Supports: Communication safeguards against romanticizing, sensationalizing, diagnosing, blaming, or simplifying despair, isolation, death wishes, and severe loss; not exegesis.
Exact location: WHO, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals, Update 2023, quick guide p. xiii and dos and don'ts pp. 11–16; applied only to modern safety-aware presentation of Psalms 22:12–21
Open the WHO communication guide ↗