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Bible / Psalms

Psalms 21

Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation

1 Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David.

2 O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.

3 O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.

4 But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.

5 In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.

6 They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

7 But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.

8 All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.

9 He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.

10 For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.

11 I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother’s womb thou art my God,

12 Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.

13 Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.

This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church

Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text. The Catechism uses modern verse numbers and psalm numbers (one higher than Douay-Rheims for most psalms), so these are listed by chapter.

  1. Psalm 22:2 in modern BiblesCCC 603 CCC 2605
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 603 “Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned. But in the redeeming love that always united him to the…”
    • CCC 2605 “When the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father's plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth…”
  2. Psalm 22:6 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “All that see Me have derided Me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.”

      Quoted in First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96), Chapter XVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  3. Psalm 22:7 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “All that see Me have derided Me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.”

      Quoted in First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96), Chapter XVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “And I lay down and slept, and rose again, because the Lord sustained Me." And again, when He says, "They spake with their lips, they wagged the head, saying, Let Him deliver Himself.”

      Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XXXVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… gall given Him to drink; and that He should be forsaken by His friends and those nearest to Him; and that He should stretch forth His hands the whole day long; and that He should be mocked and maligned by those who looked upon Him;”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  4. Psalm 22:8 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “All that see Me have derided Me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delighteth in Him.”

      Quoted in First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96), Chapter XVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  5. Psalm 22:10 in modern BiblesCCC 2270
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2270 “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human…”
  6. Psalm 22:11 in modern BiblesCCC 2270
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2270 “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human…”
  7. Psalm 22:14 in modern BiblesCCC 112
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 112 “Be especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole Scripture". Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture…”
  8. Psalm 22:15 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “… His hands the whole day long; and that He should be mocked and maligned by those who looked upon Him; and that His garments should be parted, and lots cast upon His raiment; and that He should be brought down to the dust of death”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  9. Psalm 22:16 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “For says he who prophesies regarding Him, "Spare my soul from the sword, fasten my flesh with nails; for the assemblies of the wicked have risen up against me.”

      Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter V. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “They now ask of me judgment, and dare to draw near to God." And again in other words, through another prophet, He says, "They pierced My hands and My feet, and for My vesture they cast lots.”

      Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XXXV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  10. Psalm 22:17 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “The assembly of the wicked surrounded me; they encompassed me as bees do a honeycomb,”

      Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter VI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  11. Psalm 22:18 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “And I lay down and slept, and rose again, because the Lord sustained Me.”

      Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XXXVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… friends and those nearest to Him; and that He should stretch forth His hands the whole day long; and that He should be mocked and maligned by those who looked upon Him; and that His garments should be parted, and lots cast upon His raiment;”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  12. Psalm 22:23 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “midst of my brethren; and I will praise thee in the midst of the assembly of the saints.”

      Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter VI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  13. Psalm 22:27 in modern BiblesCCC 716
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 716 “The People of the "poor" - those who, humble and meek, rely solely on their God's mysterious plans, who await the justice,…”
  14. Psalm 22:31 in modern Bibles
    Read the Fathers

    • “Therefore David says, "My soul also shall live to Him,”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

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A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.