For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, Neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard.
- KJV For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
- BSB For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
- NKJV For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
- NLT For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.
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
God did not despise or hide from the afflicted one but heard his cry. This is the heart of the psalm's testimony: God answers suffering faith.
Overview
This verse gives the reason for praise: Yahweh has not turned away from the affliction of the lowly but has listened. It answers the earlier sense of forsakenness, affirming that God's apparent silence was not abandonment. The cross shows the fullest expression of this truth, for the Father heard the Son and vindicated him, assuring all who suffer that God does not despise their cries.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Heb 5:7He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear,
- Isa 50:6–9I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
- Ps 116:3–6The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.
- Ps 118:5Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom.
- Ps 69:29–34But I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me.
- Ps 34:6This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
- Luke 23:46Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Having said this, he breathed his last.
- Ps 22:6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
- Ps 69:17Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily!
- Ps 22:2My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent.
- Ps 35:10All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?”
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 22:24 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.