Passage

Psalms 22.18

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (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)

"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)

"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. ^{my darling: Heb. my only one} ^{power: Heb. hand}" (Psalms 22:16-20, KJV)

YLT (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.)

Quoted in

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 (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
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 for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.