About a thousand years before the cross — and centuries before crucifixion was even practiced as a method of execution — King David wrote a psalm describing, in piercing detail, a death that reads exactly like a crucifixion. Jesus quoted its opening line from the cross. Here is the text, the fulfillment, and the famous textual question.
The text (Psalm 22:1, 16–18)
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?… For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
What David foresaw
- The sufferer's cry of abandonment — “why hast thou forsaken me?” (22:1)
- Mocked by onlookers who “shoot out the lip” and wag their heads (22:7–8)
- Bones out of joint; heart melted; strength dried up; consumed with thirst (22:14–15)
- Hands and feet pierced (22:16)
- Able to count his bones, stared at by his enemies (22:17)
- Garments parted; lots cast for his clothing (22:18)
Fulfilled at the cross
| Psalm 22 foretold | Fulfilled in Jesus |
|---|---|
| “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (22:1) | Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34 |
| Mocked, heads wagging (22:7–8) | Matthew 27:39–43 |
| Thirst (22:15) | John 19:28 |
| Pierced hands and feet (22:16) | John 20:25; Luke 24:39 |
| Garments parted, lots cast (22:18) | John 19:23–24; Matthew 27:35 |
The textual question on “pierced”
Verse 16 is much discussed. The traditional Masoretic Hebrew reads “like a lion” (ka'ari) my hands and feet, while the pre-Christian Septuagint (Greek) and a witness among the Dead Sea Scrolls support a verb meaning “they pierced” (ka'aru). The earliest witnesses, then, support the “pierced” reading — and the surrounding details (parted garments, counted bones, pierced extremities) describe crucifixion regardless of how that one word is rendered.
Why it matters
A crucifixion described a thousand years before it happened — by a writer who never saw one — is hard to explain as coincidence. The sufferer of Psalm 22 is, the Gospels say, the Lord Jesus, pierced for us. The response He asks is the gospel the apostles preached: repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).