Psalms 22:13
in Psalms 22They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They gape upon me with their mouth, As a ravening and a roaring lion.
KJV
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
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This verse in Psalms 22
Commentary
13 notes on this versePsalm 22 reads as if it was dictated, first person singular, as He hung on the cross, even though it was written 700 years earlier.
This site's exposition
strong bulls of Bashan
on Psalms 22:12-15
The attackers come as animals, bulls from the rich pasture of Bashan east of the Jordan and lions with open jaws. Inside, the body gives way, water poured out and a heart of melting wax. Verse 15 lays the dust of death at God's own hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"They opened their mouth upon Me" (ver. 13). They opened their mouth upon Me, not out of Thy Scripture, but of their own lusts. "As a ravening and roaring lion." As a lion, whose ravening is, that I was taken and led; and whose roaring, "Crucify, Crucify."
"They opened their mouth upon Me" (ver. 13). They opened their mouth upon Me, not out of Thy Scripture, but of their own lusts. "As a ravening and roaring lion." As a lion, whose ravening is, that I was taken and led; and whose roaring, "Crucify, Crucify."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"They have surrounded me." Above the Psalmist, in the person of Christ, showed that his complaint or grievance was reasonable, both on God's part and from the custom or experience of the ancients; here, however, he pursues the order of the passion as regards the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), where David, as a type of Christ, complains of the very calamitous condition he was in upon many accounts. He complains, and mixes comforts with his complaints; he complains (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
): They gaped upon me with their mouths, to show me that they would swallow me up; and this with as much strength and fierceness as a roaring ravening lion leaps upon his prey." 3. The very manner of his death is described, though never in use among the Jews: They pierced my hands and my feet (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They gaped upon me with their mouths,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
"They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion." Like hungry cannibals they opened their blasphemous mouths as if they were about to swallow the man whom they abhorred. They could not vomit forth their anger fast enough through the ordinary aperture of their mouths, and therefore set the doors of their lips wide open like those who gape. Like roaring lions they howled out their fury, and longed to tear the Saviour in pieces, as wild beasts raven over their prey.
"They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion." Like hungry cannibals they opened their blasphemous mouths as if they were about to swallow the man whom they abhorred. They could not vomit forth their anger fast enough through the ordinary aperture of their mouths, and therefore set the doors of their lips wide open like those who gape. Like roaring lions they howled out their fury, and longed to tear the Saviour in pieces, as wild beasts raven over their prey. Our Lord's faith must have passed through a most severe conflict while he found himself abandoned to the tender mercies of the wicked, but he came off victorious by prayer; the very dangers to which he was exposed being used to add prevalence to his entreaties.
The crucified Son of David continues to pour out his complaint and prayer. We need much grace that while reading we may have fellowship with his sufferings. May the blessed Spirit conduct us into a most clear and affecting sight of our Redeemer's woes.
They gaped upon me - They were fiercely and madly beat on my destruction.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They gaped upon me with their mouths - Margin, as in Hebrew, “opened their mouths against me.” That is, they opened their mouths wide as if they would devour me, as a lion does when he seizes upon his prey. In Psa 22:7 they are represented as “opening” the mouth for another purpose - that of derision or scorn; here they are described as if they were fierce and wild beasts ready to fall upon their prey. As a ravening and roaring lion - The word “ravening” means “voraciously devouring,” and the allusion in the Hebrew word is to the lion as he tears his prey - טרף ṭâraph - rending it in pieces to devour it. All this is designed to denote the greediness with which the enemies of the Redeemer sought his life.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Be not far from me: – Now also in exile be not far from me; since Thou hast been nigh me from my mother's womb as I grew up, be not far from me in the time of my trouble;
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּצ֣וּ | patzu | they have opened | H6475 → | 15 times |
| עָלַ֣י | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פִּיהֶ֑ם | pihem | mouth their | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אַ֝רְיֵ֗ה | ʾaryeh | a lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| טֹרֵ֥ף | toref | tearing | H2963 → | 25 times |
| וְשֹׁאֵֽג׃ | veshoeg | and roaring | H7580 → | 20 times |
פָּצ֣וּthey have opened
patzuH6475 →15 times
עָלַ֣יon me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
פִּיהֶ֑םmouth their
pihemH6310 →498 times
אַ֝רְיֵ֗הa lion
ʾaryehH738 →80 times
טֹרֵ֥ףtearing
torefH2963 →25 times
וְשֹׁאֵֽג׃and roaring
veshoegH7580 →20 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
- James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
- Ephesians 4:27
and do not give the devil a foothold.
- Job 2:2
“Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
- 1 Peter 1:13
Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 6:11
Through
Job 16:10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:15
But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
- Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Psalms 35:15
Through
Lamentations 2:16All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see…
it leads to
- Psalms 35:21
They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
- Psalms 35:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 22; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Chuck Missler, How Can We Be Sure? (article); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.