Psalms 22:16
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
BSB
Parallel translations (2) ▾
ASV
For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
KJV
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
⋯
A note on the manuscripts
Genuinely contested
"They pierced my hands and my feet" — or "like a lion"?
One Hebrew letter separates "they pierced" from "like a lion." The Greek Old Testament read "pierced" centuries before the crucifixion, and a scroll fragment supports it, but the medieval Hebrew reads "lion," and the case deserves to be heard at full strength.
What it changes: No doctrine, and this is the point on which honesty matters most. The crucifixion of Jesus does not rest on the reading of one Hebrew word in one psalm. It rests on four Gospel accounts, on the preaching of Acts, and on Paul's summary of what he received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
Commentary
4 voicesVoices on this verse
loading…Original language & word study
9 tagged words| Original | Transliteration | Meaning | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → |
| סְבָב֗וּנִי | se.va.Vu.ni | they have surrounded me | H5437 → |
| כְּלָ֫בִ֥ים | ke.La.Vim | dogs | H3611 → |
| עֲדַ֣ת | 'a.Dat | a company of | H5712 → |
| מְ֭רֵעִים | Me.re.'im | evil-doers | H7489 → |
| הִקִּיפ֑וּנִי | hi.ki.Fu.ni | they have encircled me | H5362 → |
| כָּ֝אֲרִ֗י | ka.'a.Ri | like a lion | H738 → |
| יָדַ֥י | ya.Dai | hands my | H3027 → |
| וְרַגְלָֽי׃ | ve.rag.Lai | and feet my | H7272 → |
The walk
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