*Psalms 22

₁My God, my God,

why have You left me alone?

I call to You and ask You for help,

and I moan and groan,

but You stay away from me.

₂My God, I cry and pray to You

every day and night,

but You don't answer me,

and I can never rest.

₃You are the holy God,

sitting on your throne,

and all the Israelites praise You.

₄Our forefathers trusted in You.

They believed only in You

and You saved them.

₅They prayed to You

and You saved them.

They trusted only in You

to help them

and they were not disappointed.

₆But I am like a worm,

not like a man.

People mock me, they hate me,

and they do not think that I am important.

₇Everyone who sees me laughs at me.

They shake their heads at me.

₈They say: ‘He said the Lord

would help him.

The Lord should come now

and save him.

If the Lord loves him,

then He will help him.’

₉Lord, You were with me

when I was born,

and You made me trust in You while I

was still drinking milk from my mother.

₁₀You took care of me

from the time I was born.

You have been my God from the time

I was a baby.

₁₁Please don't go away from me now,

because trouble is coming

and there is no one to help me.

₁₂There are many enemies around me.

They are like bulls from the land of Bashan,

₁₃they are like lions that open

their mouths when they roar,

and they want to kill me.

₁₄My strength is gone,

like water that is

poured out onto the ground.

My bones are broken and lying all around me,

and my heart has melted in me like wax.

₁₅I feel as if I can do nothing.

I am like a dry and broken clay pot,

and I am so thirsty that my tongue

sticks to the top of my mouth.

It feels as if I have died

and You have left me alone

lying on the ground.

₁₆Sinful people

stand around me like dogs.

They have pierced my hands and my feet.

₁₇I can see all the bones in my body,

and my enemies are looking at me and smiling.

₁₈They take my clothes,

and divide them and draw_lots

to see who can get them.

₁₉Lord, please don't be far away from me.

Lord, please come quickly and help me.

₂₀Please come and save my life

from the swords of my enemies.

Save me from these wild dogs.

₂₁Please save me

from the mouths of these lions,

from the horns of these oxen.

₂₂Then I will tell the people

of my nation what You have done.

I will praise You

where they all are together.

₂₃Praise the Lord,

you who honour and serve Him.

Descendants of Jacob, glorify his name.

All the Israelites must fear Him.

₂₄He does not look away

when someone suffers,

and He never hides when someone

prays to Him and asks for help.

₂₅Lord, I want to sing a song

of praise to You

where a lot of people are together.

I will do what I have promised

and the people

who serve the Lord will see it.

₂₆The poor people

will get enough food to eat,

and the people who ask

what the Lord wants

will praise Him.

I pray that the Lord

will make you happy forever.

₂₇Everyone on earth

will remember the Lord

and they will turn to Him.

All the families and tribes

of the nations will come

and bow down and worship Him.

₂₈Because the Lord is King,

and He rules over all the nations.

₂₉Everyone will bow down

before Him and serve Him.

The rich people who have a lot of food

to eat and the poor people

who have too little food to live on,

each person will bow down before Him,

everyone who will die one day.

₃₀The people who will live later

will serve Him.

The generations that are

not born yet but who will come later

will hear about the Lord.

₃₁They will talk about the Lord

who always does what is right,

and they will tell the people

who are born later.