Why read Psalm 21?
Read Psalm 21 when suffering brings a sense of abandonment. Its opening cry, echoed by Christ on the cross, gives voice to pain while the psalm gradually moves towards hope and praise.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
“My God, my God, give heed…” — thus begins Psalm 21, a text of 36 verses from the Third Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 21
1. My God, my God, give heed unto me; why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions.
2. My God, I shall cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear; and by night, and Thou wilt not think of me.
3. But as for Thee, Thou dwellest in the sanctuary, the praise of Israel.
4. In Thee have our fathers hoped; they have hoped in Thee, and Thou hast delivered them.
5. Unto Thee they cried and were saved; in Thee they hoped and were not put to shame.
6. But as for me, I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and the contempt of the people.
7. All they that saw me have mocked me; they have spoken with their lips, they have wagged their heads, saying:
8. "He hoped in the Lord; let Him deliver him, let Him save him, for He desireth him".
9. For Thou art He that drewest me out of the womb, my hope, from the breast of my mother.
10. From my birth I have been cast upon Thee; from the womb of my mother, Thou art my God.
11. Depart not from me, for affliction is near, for there is none to help.
12. Many calves have compassed me; fat bulls have surrounded me.
13. They have opened their mouth against me, like a lion that ravens and roareth.
14. Like water am I poured out, and all my bones are scattered.
15. My heart is become like wax, melting in the midst of my belly.
16. My strength is dried up like a clay vessel, and my tongue hath cleaved to my palate, and to the dust of death hast Thou brought me down.
17. For many dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked doers hath shut me in.
18. They have pierced my hands and my feet.
19. They have numbered all my bones, and they themselves have watched and looked upon me.
20. They have parted my garments among themselves, and for my shirt have they cast lots.
21. But Thou, O Lord, remove not Thy help far from me; have regard unto my support.
22. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my life from the claw of the dog.
23. Save me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the bulls.
24. I will declare Thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee, saying:
25. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye seed of Jacob, glorify Him!
26. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him.
27. For He hath not despised nor rejected the supplication of the poor,
28. Neither hath He turned away His face from me; and when I cried unto Him, He heard me.
29. From Thee is my praise in the great congregation; I will offer my prayers before them that fear Him.
30. The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and they shall praise the Lord that seek after Him; their hearts shall live for ever and ever.
31. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord,
32. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him.
33. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is ruler over the nations.
34. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped; all that go down to the earth shall fall down before Him,
35. And my soul liveth in Him, and my seed shall serve Him.
36. The generation to come shall be declared unto the Lord. And they shall declare His righteousness unto the people that shall be born, and what the Lord hath done.
When Psalm 21 is read
- During Holy Week — the psalm of the Passion of Christ.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
