Christian Misinterpretation of Psalms

In this essay, we shall examine the most common prooftexts that Christians take from King David's book of Psalms to support their claims of Jesus' divinity and/or kingship.

The primary prooftexts involve verses 2, 7, and 12.

Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, (KJV)

This verse is quoted here:

Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. (KJV)

(Christ is a variation of the Greek word meaning, "anointed.")

As is the case with all Christian quotations of the Jewish Bible, we are expected to take it as the truth just because it says so. However, examining other passages from the book of Psalms reveals that Psalm 2 has David speaking of himself:

Psalms 18:50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore. (KJV)

Psalms 89:20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: (KJV)

So, this anointed person is, according to the Christians, Jesus. However, this is not a proof, because one must first believe that Jesus is important enough of a historical figure (in other words, one must already believe Jesus is the Messiah) before this proof holds any water. So, if someone comes along, and doesn't believe in Jesus from the start, this proof is completely worthless.

Next verse in question:

Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. (KJV)

This verse has the Lord speaking of his "son," so, since the Christians believe Jesus is the son of G-d, then this can only be talking about Jesus. In Hebrew, there are no capital or lower case letters. By capitalizing the "s" in "son," the publishers of the King James Bible is intentionally trying to lead the reader to belief in Jesus. All of this implies that the Lord never spoke of anyone else as His son. Scripture emphatically states otherwise.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt.

Here, the people of Israel are collectively G-d's "son."

1 Chronicles 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. [10] He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be My son, and I [will be] his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. (KJV)

Here, Solomon is referred to as G-d's "son." Obviously, the title isn't Jesus' sole claim.

Next verse in question:

Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (KJV)

This is a very simply case of mistranslation, but not in the traditional sense. The word that the KJV translated as "Son" is the Hebrew word "bar." This word does indeed mean "son," but not in the Hebrew language, but in the closely related Aramaic language. In Hebrew, the word means "purity." Of the 150 Psalms, not a single one of them is written in Aramaic; it's entirely in Hebrew.

Part II -- Psalm 22

The primary prooftexts involve verses 1 and 16.

Psalms 22:1 My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (KJV)

This verse is quoted in Matthew and Mark:

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me? (KJV)

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me? (KJV)

Firstly, what Jesus says here is definitely Hebrew. "Lama" is one of the two Hebrew words which can be translated as the interrogative, "why?" Secondly, what he says here is categorically NOT a quote of Psalm 22:1. "Why have you forsaken me" is in Hebrew, "lama azavtani." That is a noteworthy difference from "lama sabachthani." What Jesus said on the cross is actually "why have you slaughtered me." Jesus, the man-god, savior of all mankind, cries out to the Lord, not knowing why this fate had befallen him.

Next verse in question:

Psalms 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. (KJV)

At first glance, we couldn't possibly find a verse that more loudly screamed of Christianity. It speaks of someone having his hands and feet pierced. Obviously, only one person in the history of the world has had their hands and feet pierced. (This is a prime example of how you need to first believe in Jesus before even the mistranslated representation of what King David wrote can be used as a "proof.") Secondly, what really went on during a crucifixion is that the wrists and ankles were pierced, not the hands and feet. This might seem like nitpicking to one who is not prepared to take this seriously, but it is a valid point nonetheless. Thirdly, we are dealing with a mistranslation. What you see for the word "pierced" is translated from the Hebrew "ka'ari," which means "like a lion." This word is used again in that very same Psalm:

Psalm 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (KJV)

Odd, that KJV would translate the very same word as "pierced" in verse 16, but as lion in verse 21. I suppose if the word really did mean "pierce" then verse 21 should read "Save me from the pierced mouth" but of course, that makes no sense.

Psalm 22:7 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

So, Jesus, the god-man, is calling himself a worm? On the other hand, the worm reference is found elsewhere in Scripture:

Isaiah 41:14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (KJV)

So, the Jewish people are likened to a worm, and the comparison here makes it much more likely that David was writing about the plight of the Jew. For some reason, Christians find it hard to believe that the Psalmist would be writing about his own people.

This Psalm, according to the Christians, is a prophecy of Jesus' sufferings for mankind. This Psalm is quoted in various places, but I will only deal with it in regards to verses 4 and 5.

Psalm 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. (KJV)

Quoted here:

John 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. (KJV)

As I've established above, this requires belief in Jesus before this becomes a valid proof. Additionally, this same logic is used for the verse regarding drinking vinegar. Because Jesus drank vinegar on the cross, and the Psalm speaks of someone being served vinegar to drink, obviously the Psalm must be talking about Jesus! This sort of logic is hopelessly flawed.

Furthermore, this Psalm disagrees with the New Testament's portrayal of Jesus:

Psalms 69:5 O G-d, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. (KJV)

It is quite well known that Christians espouse the doctrine of Jesus' "sinless nature." However, if the New Testament wants to apply Psalm 69 to Jesus, the Jewish people have no problem with the idea.

The major prooftext here is verse 1:

Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (KJV)

This is a perfect example of the old adage "it loses something in the translation." At first glance, this would seem like G-d is talking to Himself. However, this simply is not the case. The name, which KJV capitalizes above, is the designation for the four-letter sacred name of G-d. The "Lord" which is not entirely capitalized above is the Hebrew word "adoni," which means "my master." In modern spoken Hebrew, it is used as one would use the word "sir" in English.

King David, while not allowed to build the Temple, did everything he could to prepare the way for it to be built, and among the things he did was compile the book of Psalms to be sung by the Levites in the Temple. This Psalm was meant to be sung by the Levites, and thus reflects their point of view, for they would call their king "adoni."

And so, we see that Christianity's primary prooftexts from the book of Psalms are foundationless.