Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
- KJV Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
- NKJV Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
- NASB Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
- NLT My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Strong enemies surround him like the powerful bulls of Bashan. He is encircled by fierce and threatening foes.
Overview
The sufferer describes his enemies as 'strong bulls of Bashan,' a region known for its robust cattle, picturing menacing, aggressive opponents. The animal imagery conveys the brutal power arrayed against him. This portrait of encircling enemies anticipates the hostile forces that surrounded Christ in his suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Amos 4:1–3Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
- Acts 4:27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
- Ps 68:30Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations, until it submits, bringing bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
- Matt 27:1When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
- Ezek 39:18You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan.
- Deut 32:14–15with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine.
- Jer 50:11“Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph—you who plunder My inheritance—because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,
- Isa 34:7And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 22:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.