Psalm 22:14-15
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The verse uses intensely visceral imagery—water poured out, bones dislocated, wax melting—not just to describe physical agony, but a complete, soul-shattering dissolution. This isn't merely pain; it's the feeling of one's very being disintegrating under immense pressure.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage plunges into the depths of despair, describing the psalmist's utter physical and emotional collapse amidst relentless enemies. Surrounded by fierce foes depicted as powerful bulls and lions, the psalmist feels completely helpless, his body dislocated and his heart melting away. This intense description of suffering, often seen as prophetic of Christ's agony, sets the stage for a cry for divine intervention from a place of absolute vulnerability and nearing death.
Have you ever felt like your body was betraying you under stress? This verse paints a picture of total physical breakdown.
The psalmist uses vivid imagery to describe a state of extreme weakness and suffering.
Poured Out Like Water
This isn't just feeling a bit tired; it's a complete loss of strength, like water spilled and gone forever. It speaks to a prostration so deep that all vitality seems to have drained away.
Bones Out of Joint
Imagine your body feeling so weak and strained that your very bones seem to separate or be on the verge of dislocation. This points to intense physical agony and a frame racked beyond normal endurance.
Heart Like Wax
The heart, the seat of courage and life, is described as melting wax. This symbolizes utter fear, overwhelming grief, and the complete exhaustion of emotional and physical strength.
This verse doesn't just describe pain; it hints at the cause and nature of that pain. What does it reveal about the depths of suffering?
The descriptions here aren't just random physical sensations; they reflect a soul under immense burden, whether from enemies or from a profound spiritual agony.
External and Internal Torment
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The imagery points to a suffering that is both external (enemies like bulls and lions, as in earlier verses) and profoundly internal. The body's breaking down is a direct consequence of the overwhelming internal distress.
A Prelude to Death
These descriptions powerfully convey a state on the very brink of death. The body is failing, strength is gone, and the heart is collapsing. It’s a picture of utter desolation and the seeming end of all hope.
Understand the original words
shaphak · Hebrew Verb
A metaphor for complete loss of physical strength, stability, or control; suggesting a state of total vulnerability or death.
lebab · Hebrew Noun
The vital organ representing the center of human intellect, will, emotions, and moral character; in Scripture, it is the seat of the soul's inner life.
cheres · Hebrew Noun
A piece of broken pottery; used in the Bible to illustrate extreme dryness, fragility, and worthlessness, particularly in the context of human mortality.
maveth · Hebrew Noun
The grave, the state of the dead, or the finality of human mortality; represents the ultimate humiliation and the end of earthly life.
This passage echoes the profound distress and weakness described in Psalms 22:14, with the people's 'spirits being poured out' within them, mirroring the physical and emotional dissolution.
Job 30:17Job's description of his suffering includes intense physical pain and sleeplessness, where 'night pierces my bones in me,' which parallels the feeling of bones being out of joint and a body dissolving under immense pressure.
Isaiah 53:5This prophetic passage speaks of the Suffering Servant being 'pierced for our transgressions' and 'crushed for our iniquities,' which resonates with the physical agony and dissolution described in Psalms 22, often interpreted as a prophecy of Christ's suffering.
Matthew 27:46Jesus' cry from the cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' directly quotes the beginning of Psalm 22, highlighting the profound sense of abandonment and suffering that aligns with the psalm's detailed description of agony.
John 19:34The detail of blood and water flowing from Jesus' side after His death is a unique physical manifestation of His suffering that, while not directly in Psalms 22, illustrates the extreme physical dissolution and poured-out essence of His sacrifice.
ellicottPsalms 22:14: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."
(14) The state of hopeless prostration into which the victim of these terrible foes is brought could not be more powerfully described. It is a state of entire dissolution. Again Lamentations 2:2 offers a close parallel. Out of joint.—Perhaps, better, stand out as in a state of emaciation. (Comp. Psalm 22:17.) Literally, separate themselves. In other places…
pulpitPsalms 22:14: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."
Verse 14. - I am poured out like water (comp. Psalm 58:7; 2 Samuel 14:14). The exact meaning is uncertain; but extreme' weakness and exhaustion, something like utter prostration, seems to be indicated. And all my bones are out of joint. The strain of the body suspended on the cross would all but dislocate the joints of the arms, and would be felt in every…
The verse uses intensely visceral imagery—water poured out, bones dislocated, wax melting—not just to describe physical agony, but a complete, soul-shattering dissolution. This isn't merely pain; it's the feeling of one's very being disintegrating under immense pressure.
This passage plunges into the depths of despair, describing the psalmist's utter physical and emotional collapse amidst relentless enemies. Surrounded by fierce foes depicted as powerful bulls and lions, the psalmist feels completely helpless, his body dislocated and his heart melting away. This intense description of suffering, often seen as prophetic of Christ's agony, sets the stage for a cry for divine intervention from a place of absolute vulnerability and nearing death.
This passage plunges into the depths of despair, describing the psalmist's utter physical and emotional collapse amidst relentless enemies. Surrounded by fierce foes depicted as powerful bulls and lions, the psalmist feels completely helpless, his body dislocated and his heart melting away. This intense description of suffering, often seen as prophetic of Christ's agony, sets the stage for a cry for divine intervention from a place of absolute vulnerability and nearing death.
"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in…" — The verse uses intensely visceral imagery—water poured out, bones dislocated, wax melting—not just to describe physical agony, but a complete, soul-shattering dissolution. This isn't merely pain; it'…
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Last reviewed October 2026
