Prophecy 13 of 30 · Suffering
They pierced my hands and feet
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mocking crowds, hands and feet, garments divided by lots.
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Hebrew · Leningrad Codexעִבְרִית
2אֵלִ֣י אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי רָח֥וֹק מִֽ֝ישׁוּעָתִ֗י דִּבְרֵ֥י שַׁאֲגָתִֽי׃eli eli lama azavtani rachok mishu'ati divre sha'agati
JPS 1917 · Jewish translation
2My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, and art far from my help at the words of my cry?
World Messianic Bible
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
Psalms 22:2 in Hebrew numbering; Psalms 22:1 in English Bibles. Transliteration simplified. Read the whole chapter
Also in this passage: Psalms 22:8-9, Psalms 22:17-19
8כָּל־רֹ֭אַי יַלְעִ֣גוּ לִ֑י יַפְטִ֥ירוּ בְ֝שָׂפָ֗ה יָנִ֥יעוּ רֹֽאשׁ׃ 9גֹּ֣ל אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה יְפַלְּטֵ֑הוּ יַ֝צִּילֵ֗הוּ כִּ֘י חָ֥פֵֽץ בּֽוֹ׃
kal-ro'ay yal'igu li yaftiru vesafa yani'u rosh gol el-ADONAI yefalletehu yatzilehu ki chafetz bo
8All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head: 9'Let him commit himself unto the LORD! let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighteth in him.'
Psalms 22:8-9 (Hebrew & JPS 1917) · English Bibles: Psalms 22:7-8
17כִּ֥י סְבָב֗וּנִי כְּלָ֫בִ֥ים עֲדַ֣ת מְ֭רֵעִים הִקִּיפ֑וּנִי כָּ֝אֲרִ֗י יָדַ֥י וְרַגְלָֽי׃ 18אֲסַפֵּ֥ר כָּל־עַצְמוֹתָ֑י הֵ֥מָּה יַ֝בִּ֗יטוּ יִרְאוּ־בִֽי׃ 19יְחַלְּק֣וּ בְגָדַ֣י לָהֶ֑ם וְעַל־לְ֝בוּשִׁ֗י יַפִּ֥ילוּ גוֹרָֽל׃
ki sevavuni kelavim adat mere'im hikkifuni ka'ari yaday veraglay asapper kal-atzmotay hemma yabbitu yiru-vi yechalleku vegaday lahem ve'al-levushi yappilu goral
17For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet. 18I may count all my bones; they look and gloat over me. 19They part my garments among them, and for my vesture do they cast lots.
Psalms 22:17-19 (Hebrew & JPS 1917) · English Bibles: Psalms 22:16-18
Fulfilment · New CovenantWMB
Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Yeshua cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:39-43 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
John 19:23-24 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Yeshua, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Then they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to decide whose it will be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They parted my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
How rabbinic tradition reads it
The Masoretic text of verse 17 (English 16) reads ka'ari, "like a lion, my hands and my feet". Jewish translations follow it (JPS 1917: "Like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet"). The psalm is read as David's or Israel's suffering.
Why Messianic Jews read it as Yeshua
The Greek Septuagint (before Jesus) reads "they dug/pierced", and a Dead Sea Scrolls era manuscript from Nahal Hever (5/6HevPs) reads ka'aru, a verb. Yeshua quoted its first line from the cross, and soldiers divided his clothes by lot.
Look at the text for yourself
Read Psalms 22:2 slowly, in the Hebrew and the JPS translation above. Then ask the question the Ethiopian official asked: "Who is the prophet talking about?"
Sources
- Masoretic text, Psalm 22:17
- Septuagint, Psalm 21:17
- 5/6HevPs (Nahal Hever)
- Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain), via OpenScriptures. English: JPS 1917; World Messianic Bible (public domain).