Psalm 22 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: 22:2, 22:3, 22:17, 22:22, 22:30
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Psalm 22
From abandonment to praise among the nations
Verse 22:1 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:1] For the director. On the Hind of the Dawn. A psalm of David.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:1] For the end, concerning the help of the morning. A psalm of David.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew names a dawn hind, possibly a musical designation; Greek explicitly names morning help. Rabbinic: Rashi on 22:1 offers a musical interpretation, relates the hind to Israel, and reports the Sages’ application to Esther. These alternatives are reception, not additions to the title. [RASHI-PS22]
Verse 22:2 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:2] My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?
Far from my salvation are the words of my roaring.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:2] God, my God, attend to me; why did You abandon me?
Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Greek adds attend to me and replaces Hebrew roaring with transgressions. The difficult relation of far to rescue and speech remains visible. Rabbinic: Rashi on 22:2 applies the prayer to Israel’s future exile. [RASHI-PS22] Saints: Matthew 27:46 explicitly records Jesus’ use of the abandonment question. [SBL-MATT-PS] Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 22 §§1–2, interprets the sinful voice through the old humanity borne with the Crucified, rather than treating it as a statement of Jesus’ personal sin. [AUG-PS22]
Verse 22:3 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:3] My God, I call by day, but You do not answer,
and by night, but there is no silence for me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:3] My God, I will cry by day, and You will not hear,
and by night, and not to folly for me.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew denies the speaker’s silence or rest; Greek says the experience is not for his folly. Augustine, §3, interprets the unanswered earthly request as instruction toward wiser, eternal desire. [AUG-PS22]
Verse 22:4 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:4] Yet You are holy,
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:4] But You dwell among holy ones,
the praise of Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew explicitly calls God holy and relates His sitting to Israel’s praises; Greek places Him among holy ones and calls Him Israel’s praise. Greek en hagiois may also mean in holy places; the ambiguity is acknowledged.
Verse 22:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:5] In You our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and You delivered them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:5] In You our fathers hoped;
they hoped, and You rescued them.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both repeat ancestral reliance and divine deliverance.
Verse 22:6 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:6] To You they cried out and escaped;
in You they trusted and were not put to shame.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:6] To You they cried out and were saved;
in You they hoped and were not put to shame.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The ancestors’ answered cry and unashamed reliance agree.
Verse 22:7 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:7] But I am a worm and not a man,
a human reproach, despised by the people.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:7] But I am a worm and not a human being,
a human reproach and an object of the people’s contempt.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both preserve the speaker’s severe humiliation. Rabbinic: Rashi on 22:7 understands all Israel speaking as one person. [RASHI-PS22]
Verse 22:8 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:8] All who see me mock me;
they open their lips and shake their heads:
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:8] All who watch me sneered at me;
they spoke with their lips and shook their heads:
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Mockery and the shaking head agree; Hebrew opens the lip, while Greek explicitly speaks.
Verse 22:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:9] “Roll your burden onto YHWH; let Him deliver him;
let Him rescue him, since He delights in him.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:9] “He hoped in the Lord; let Him rescue him;
let Him save him, since He desires him.”
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew’s opening is an imperative to roll one’s burden onto YHWH, then shifts to him; Greek reports his prior hope. The taunting frame follows verse eight. Saints: Matthew 27:43 reuses the rescue-and-divine-desire wording in the mockery of Jesus. [SBL-MATT-PS]
Verse 22:10 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:10] For You drew me from the womb;
You made me trust upon my mother’s breasts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:10] For You are the One who drew me from the belly,
my hope from my mother’s breasts.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both trace dependence on God to birth and nursing; Hebrew describes His making the child secure, Greek calls Him the child’s hope.
Verse 22:11 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:11] Upon You I was cast from the womb;
from my mother’s belly You have been my God.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:11] Upon You I was cast from the womb;
from my mother’s belly You are my God.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both portray lifelong dependence beginning before independent human agency.
Verse 22:12 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:12] Do not be far from me, for distress is near,
for there is no helper.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:12] Do not stand away from me, for affliction is near,
for there is no one to help.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The plea contrasts nearby distress with desired divine nearness.
Verse 22:13 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:13] Many bulls surround me;
the mighty ones of Bashan encircle me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:13] Many calves surrounded me;
fat bulls encompassed me.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew names Bashan and mighty bulls; Greek has calves and fat bulls, with no place-name.
Verse 22:14 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:14] They open their mouth against me,
a lion tearing prey and roaring.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:14] They opened their mouth against me
like a lion seizing prey and roaring.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: The predatory lion imagery agrees; Greek supplies an explicit like.
Verse 22:15 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:15] I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are pulled apart.
My heart has become like wax,
melting within my inward parts.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:15] I was poured out like water,
and all my bones were scattered.
My heart became like wax
melting in the midst of my belly.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both preserve water, disordered bones, and the melting heart. Hebrew’s separation of bones differs slightly from Greek scattering.
Verse 22:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:16] My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
my tongue sticks to my jaws,
and You lay me in the dust of death.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:16] My strength dried up like a potsherd;
my tongue is stuck to my throat,
and You brought me down into the dust of death.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew malqoah is provisionally jaws, with palate also proposed; Greek explicitly names the throat. Both attribute the descent toward death to God.
Verse 22:17 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:17] For dogs surround me;
a company of evildoers encircles me—
like a lion, my hands and my feet!
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:17] For many dogs surrounded me;
a gathering of evildoers encompassed me;
they dug into my hands and feet.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew prints ka’ari, like a lion, in an elliptical clause; Greek has ōryxan, they dug, with hands and feet as objects, and adds many dogs. No unaccessed manuscript reading is used to replace Hebrew. Rabbinic: Rashi on 22:17 supplies the image of limbs crushed in a lion’s mouth. [RASHI-PS22] Saints: Augustine, §17, interprets the wounded hands and feet as pierced with crucifixion nails. That specific instrument belongs to his reception. [AUG-PS22]
Verse 22:18 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:18] I can count all my bones;
they look and stare at me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:18] I counted all my bones;
but they observed and looked upon me.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both juxtapose countable bones with the onlookers’ gaze. Greek has past counting; Hebrew can express the speaker’s present ability.
Verse 22:19 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:19] They divide my garments among themselves,
and cast a lot for my clothing.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:19] They divided my garments among themselves,
and cast a lot for my clothing.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The division and casting of a lot agree. Saints: John 19:23–24 explicitly cites these words as fulfilled when the soldiers divide Jesus’ garments and cast lots for His seamless tunic. [SBL-JOHN-PS]
Verse 22:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:20] But You, YHWH, do not be far away;
my strength, hurry to help me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:20] But You, Lord, do not put my help far away;
attend to my support.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew asks God Himself to stay near and hasten; Greek asks Him not to distance the help and to attend to support.
Verse 22:21 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:21] Deliver my soul from the sword,
my only life from the dog’s grasp.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:21] Rescue my soul from the sword
and my only one from the dog’s hand.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both connect the soul with its unique, irreplaceable life. Greek’s feminine only one is kept without inserting an otherwise unnamed child or Church into the translation.
Verse 22:22 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:22] Save me from the lion’s mouth;
from the horns of wild oxen You have answered me.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:22] Save me from a lion’s mouth
and my lowliness from the horns of one-horned animals.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew turns to an assertion of answered prayer; Greek continues the request, naming my lowliness. Hebrew re’em is provisionally wild ox; Greek monokerōs explicitly describes a one-horned animal, without settling a zoological identification.
Verse 22:23 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:23] I will recount Your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:23] I will recount Your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the assembly I will sing hymns to You:
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The proclamation among brothers and assembled worship agree. Saints: Hebrews 2:11–12 explicitly puts the corresponding praise line in the speech of the One who sanctifies and calls the sanctified His brothers. [SBL-HEB-PS]
Verse 22:24 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:24] You who fear YHWH, praise Him!
All Jacob’s seed, honor Him!
Stand in awe of Him, all Israel’s seed!
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:24] You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All Jacob’s seed, glorify Him!
Let all Israel’s seed fear Him,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Both summon Jacob’s and Israel’s descendants to reverent praise; Greek shifts to a third-person exhortation in the last line.
Verse 22:25 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:25] for He did not despise or abhor the afflicted person’s affliction;
He did not hide His face from him,
and when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:25] because He did not despise or resent the poor man’s petition,
nor turn His face away from me,
and when I cried out to Him, He heard me.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew speaks of affliction, with a cry or humility also possible for ‘enut, and maintains him; Greek explicitly has petition and changes to me and I.
Verse 22:26 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:26] From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:26] From You comes my praise in a great assembly;
I will repay my vows before those who fear Him.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both promise public fulfillment of vows and preserve the move from You to Him.
Verse 22:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:27] The humble will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek YHWH will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:27] The needy will eat and be filled,
and those who seek the Lord will praise Him;
their hearts will live for the age of the age.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew directly blesses your hearts; Greek predicts life for their hearts. Rabbinic: Rashi on 22:27 applies the humble people’s meal to redemption in the days of the Messiah. [RASHI-PS22]
Verse 22:28 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:28] All the ends of the earth will remember and return to YHWH;
all the families of the nations will bow down before You.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:28] All the limits of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations will bow down before You,
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Both envision universal remembrance, return, and worship.
Verse 22:29 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:29] For kingship belongs to YHWH,
and He rules over the nations.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:29] because kingship belongs to the Lord,
and He is master of the nations.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The divine rule over all nations agrees.
Verse 22:30 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:30] All the prosperous of the earth have eaten and bowed down;
before Him all who descend to dust will kneel,
and he did not keep his own soul alive.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:30] All the prosperous of the earth ate and bowed down;
before Him all who descend into the earth will fall,
and my soul lives for Him.
Classification & Notes
Disparate. Text: Hebrew ends with a third-person negative concerning preservation of life; Greek positively declares that my soul lives for Him. The Hebrew subject is compressed and uncertain; the negative is retained instead of harmonized away.
Verse 22:31 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:31] A seed will serve Him;
it will be recounted of the Lord to the generation.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:31] And my seed will serve Him;
the coming generation will be announced to the Lord,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek explicitly says my seed and makes the coming generation the announced subject; Hebrew’s compressed clause is provisionally a report concerning the Lord to a generation.
Verse 22:32 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[22:32] They will come and declare His righteousness
to a people being born,
for He has done it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[21:32] and they will announce His righteousness
to a people yet to be born,
because the Lord has done it.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Hebrew explicitly begins they will come; Greek’s coming is attached to the preceding generation and here explicitly names the Lord as the One who acted. The source boundaries are preserved.