Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
Parallel translations
- WEB Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, from the horns of the wild oxen, you have answered me.
- KJV Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
- NKJV Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.
- NASB Save me from the lion’s mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
- NLT Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen.
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
The prayer for rescue from lion and wild oxen suddenly turns to confidence: 'you have answered me.' Faith breaks through into assurance of being heard.
Overview
David completes his catalog of fierce foes with the lion's mouth and the horns of wild oxen, images of overwhelming danger. Remarkably the verse ends with a note of answered prayer, marking the turning point of the psalm from lament to praise. This shift foreshadows the movement from the cross to the vindication and resurrection of Christ, who was heard by the Father and raised in triumph.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 2 Tim 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- John 14:30I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
- 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.
- Num 23:22God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
- John 8:59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
- 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.
- Acts 5:30–32The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.
- Deut 33:17His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”
- Job 39:9–10Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
- Luke 22:53Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 22:21 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.