Psalms 22:16

14 I am poured out like water,
^aAnd all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted¹ within Me.

15 ^aMy strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And ^bMy tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
^aThey¹ pierced My hands and My feet;

17 I can count all My bones.
^aThey look and stare at Me.

18 ^aThey divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.

19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

20 Deliver Me from the sword,
^aMy¹ precious life from the power of the dog.

21 ^aSave Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
^bYou have answered Me.

22 ^aI will declare Your name to ^bMy brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Psalms 22:16 Mean?

Psalm 22:16

"Dogs" was a common term used by first-century Jews in reference to Gentiles. The Messiah was surrounded, there at the foot of the stake, by Roman soldiers.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Christ's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

Psalm 22:1-31

Perhaps the easiest way to see David as a prophet is to survey one of his most clearly prophetic psalms, Psalm 22. Anyone familiar with the scourging and crucifixion of Jesus Christ can see the obvious parallels, and the writers of the gospel accounts—especially Matthew—bring them out through direct quotations of this psalm. Henry Halley, author of Halley's Bible Handbook, writes of this psalm, "[T]hough written a thousand years before Jesus, it is so vivid a description of the crucifixion of Jesus that one would think of the writer as being personally present at the Cross" (p. 254).

No one knows what event of David's life, if any, provides the background to his plaintive song, but it must have been the nadir of his sufferings, the most likely guess being sometime during Saul's pursuit of him. However, even if it is based on David's experience of persecution, Psalm 22 is so specific and detailed in its descriptions of Christ's crucifixion that it can in reality only be a divinely inspired prophecy of the execution of the Son of God—a full millennium before the events took place in Roman Jerusalem.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
David the Prophet

Psalm 22:15-16

Psalm 22:15-16 predicts that the Messiah's tongue clings to His jaws in terrible thirst and that His hands and feet are pierced. Both of these details are dutifully documented in the gospels. John relates, "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, 'I thirst!'" (John 19:28). Likewise, Luke 24:40 appears in a scene after His resurrection, when Jesus is trying to prove to His disciples that it is really He and no ghost: "When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet," which had obviously been pierced by nails. Thomas later asked to see and feel that same proof (John 20:25).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
David the Prophet

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What Does Psalms 22:16 Mean?

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