# Psalms 22.18

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**Book:** [Psalms](/codex/psalms/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 16. For dogs have compassed me: A company of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17. I may count all my bones; They look and stare upon me.
>
> **18. They part my garments among them, And upon my vesture do they cast lots.**
>
> 19. But be not thou far off, O Jehovah: O thou my succor, haste thee to help me. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword, My darling from the power of the dog. (Psalms 22:16-20, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 16. For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17. I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me.
>
> **18. They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.**
>
> 19. But don’t be far off, Yahweh. You are my help: hurry to help me. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. (Psalms 22:16-20, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 16. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
>
> **18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.**
>
> 19. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. <sup>my darling: Heb. my only one</sup> <sup>power: Heb. hand</sup> (Psalms 22:16-20, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 16. And to the dust of death thou appointest me, For surrounded me have dogs, A company of evil doers have compassed me, Piercing my hands and my feet. 17. I count all my bones, they look expectingly, They look upon me,
>
> **18. They apportion my garments to themselves, And for my clothing they cause a lot to fall.**
>
> 19. And Thou, O Jehovah, be not far off, O my strength, to help me haste. 20. Deliver from the sword my soul, From the paw of a dog mine only one. (Psalms 22:16-20, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** various (David majority; Asaph, Korah, Moses, Solomon, anonymous)
- **Audience:** worshipping Israel (corporate + individual devotion)
- **Location:** Israel, various periods
- **Time period:** composition spans c. 1400 BC (Moses, Ps 90), c. 400 BC; principal Davidic composition c. 1000 BC

## Theological reading

## Key words

_No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.

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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [Argument from Prophecy Fulfillment](/codex/argument-from-prophecy-fulfillment/)
- [Cursed Messiah Objection Defeater](/codex/cursed-messiah-objection-defeater/), via [Psalms 22.14-18](/codex/psalms-22-14-18/)

**Concepts:**

- [Messianic Prophecy](/codex/messianic-prophecy/)
- [Messianic Prophecy Probability](/codex/messianic-prophecy-probability/)

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