I guess the place of pain is the loneliest place. No-one can know or share another’s experience of pain. So it is those in pain who are lonely: those who are sick, ill, the depressed. It is difficult to see how others are brought into the experience of an individual’s pain.
When are the many brought into the suffering of the one?
In a few events we try. Perhaps in the death of Princess Diana, we experienced a nation grieving, but for us in Australia, it was still at a distance.
Or the little Iraqi boy, little Ali, who lost his arms when a coalition bomb hit his home. Some of us for a short time might try to enter his pain, to empathize and provide the best doctors, the prosthetic limbs. But again, only he knows his pain.
Even in childbirth—which so often has a happy issue and the hopes of joy and a new born baby set before it—even in that there is a lonely path of pain.
Welcome to the 22nd psalm, another psalm of king David. And this psalm is a bit like having winter and summer in the one day, because we find God’s king at the extremities of his emotions in his dealings with his God. It is a symphony with two movements. It is like childbirth—a song of both deep pain and soaring praise.
David first of all expresses his lament (vv. 1-21). He experiences forsakenness (vv. 1-2) and mockery for trusting in Yahweh (vv. 6-8). His enemies have gathered around him as roaring carnivores and ferocious beasts (vv. 11-18). Nevertheless, David rests in the truths that he knows about Yahweh (vv. 3-5), and his history of faith (8-10), and so David renews his plea to God (vv. 19-21).
But after his lament, the Psalm issues in praise (vv. 22-31)—praise for Yahweh from the congregation of all Israel (vv. 22-23, 25-26), because God has not despised his Messiah’s sufferings (vv. 24). Indeed, all nations will praise Yahweh (vv. 27-29), and all the generations to come will praise the Lord’s righteousness (vv. 30-31).
A Song of Pain (vv. 1-21)
But it is first a song of pain, deep emotional pain. Verses 1 to 21 record David’s lament. Now we don’t know the exact circumstance of this song. We don’t know the precise problem that caused David’s lament. We are told about the roaring and tearing of men. The king’s pain was occasioned by his enemies. Those who hate the King have surfaced, and he senses great danger. In verse 15, he speaks of being laid “in the dust of death”. In verse 20, he prays that God would deliver him from the sword. These suggest that David sees his life as under threat.
David had his enemies. And throughout his long public career, he bore seasons of being pursued by enemies, whether within his kingdom or outside it. So it is not surprising that powerful enemies now surround David. But they are more than enemies. In verse 16, David describes them as ‘evil doers’.
But it gets worse. In verse 6, he is “scorned by mankind and despised by the people”. His enemies are not just a small band. They are all who see him. He is despised universally. Here is David, the king, who is the object of scorn of the humanity around him. And even if there was someone favourably disposed to him, they can’t help him. In verse 11, there is “none to help him”. And all the rest are as wild animals gathering him. David speaks of a pack of wild dogs, a herd of bulls, and hunting lions. We might call them sharks with the scent of blood, or vultures circling, or a cat playing with a mouse it has caught.
The Silence of God (v. 1)
But these are not the main causes of David’s pain. His treatment at the hands of men grieves him, yes. But that is not the worst thing that he is experiencing. For no matter how loudly his enemies roar and mock as they circle him, the silence of God is more unbearable.
And rightly are his first words addressed to God. Verse 1:
22:1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from my salvation, [from] the words of my roaring?
And in the midst of his pain, David asks God, “Why have you placed a great chasm between yourself and my roaring? Why do you stand far off, aloof, idle? God you are there, but you are silent.” Despite David’s sleepless nights and his cries from his bed, God does not provide him with any relief.
It is God to whom David cries, not men. Indeed, the mocking words of those who surround him provoke his address to God. Verse 8:
22:8“Roll over your cause onto Yahweh, he will bring him into safety. Let him deliver him since he delights in him.”
Those that gather around David mock him with their sarcasm. “Roll your cause over onto the Yahweh”, they say. “You trust in God, don’t you? Surely he will save you. He delights in you so much!” And so David turns to the LORD his God, Yahweh, whom they say has spurned him.
But it is when all hope seems lost, that David the Messiah re-affirms his faith in God and his goodness. Here is faith in tough places. In the midst of his pain, David makes a good confession. So in verse 3, he confesses that Yahweh is holy.
You Are Holy (v. 3)
Verse 3:
22:3But you are holy, dwelling in the praises of Israel.
“You Yahweh are God.” David’s pain does not cause him to doubt God’s goodness, let alone his existence. “And you Yahweh are holy.” God is holy, and rightly praised by Israel. God is to be regarded as separate, distinct, moral pure, far exalted over Israel and the world of humanity.
You Were Trustworthy For My Fathers (vv. 4-5)
And because Yahweh is holy, Yahweh is also trustworthy. In verses 4 and 5, David remembers Yahweh’s track record, that the God of Israel had shown himself faithful and trustworthy.
22:4In you our fathers put their trust. They trusted and you brought them into safety. 22:5They cried out to you and were delivered. In you they trusted, and were not ashamed.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and judge, patriarch and prophet and warrior king all trusted in Yahweh and were delivered by him from the evil and awful situations they faced. And he reminds himself that no-one who ever puts his trust in the God of Israel will ever be disappointed.
Me (vv. 9-10)
And in verses 9 and 10, David remembers his own history with Yahweh. God has been with him from birth. From infancy, he was Yahweh’s, and Yahweh was his, and nevertheless, David has been kept safe.
22:9For you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you when I was upon my mother’s breast. 22:10I was cast upon you from the womb, you have been my God from the belly of my mother.
How do you respond to the dark times, when you are in a desperate and dark place, and when everything and everyone says, “God has abandoned you”? Do you doubt God’s goodness or his existence? Or do you remember God, who he is, what he has done, and what he has promised?
God is holy. God is good. He will do what is right and best. His ways are perfect. All his ways are just.
Do we speak Job’s words into our situation, “Even if he slay me, yet I will trust in him”? Do you remember that God is faithful. No-one who has ever put their trust in him as ever been put to shame.
So put your trust in the Lord, and in his unfailing love. He will redeem you and lift you up. Put your hope in the Lord.
A Renewed Plea (vv. 11, 19-21)
In verse 1, David asked “why are you so far from […] the words of my roaring”. But that doesn’t stop him from asking God again. And so he repeats his petition in verse 11:
22:11Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, for there is no-one to help.
And again, verses 19 and 20:
22:19But you, O Yahweh, do not be far off. O my strength, come quickly to my aid. 22:20Deliver my life from the sword, my valuable life from the hand of the dogs.
And in verse 21, David calls on God to rescue and save him:
Save me from the mouth of the lion, from the horns of the wild oxen.
Here is a persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). Here is one who prays and does not give up. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will God keep putting them off? Will God see that they get justice and quickly?
It is a shame that it is only as a footnote that the NIV gives us the words as a possible translation, ‘You have heard’, or better, ‘You have answered me’. The Revised Version, the New King James, and the NASB, I think rightly translates that at the end of the verse. ‘You have answered me’ (‘aniytani is the Qal Perfect 2ms with 3ms suffix, meaning ‘You have answered me’). This is a declaration that God has heard the prayer of the afflicted king.
A Song of Praise (vv. 22-31)
We don’t know in what way specifically God answered David. It is likely that the occasion was that God saved David from his enemies and the death they threatened him with. So David moves from a song of pain to a song of praise, from verse 22 to the end of the psalm.
And David gives the reason for his praise in verse 24:
22:24For he has not despised or abhorred the suffering of the afflicted one, and he has not hidden his face from him but when he cried out, he listened to him.
God has seen David’s suffering. The mockers sarcastically said of him, “let [God] deliver him since he delights in him.” But ironically they were right. God does indeed delight in David. God does not disdain or despise his suffering. David’s pain is precious to God.
The silent God has now heard, and the concealed God is no longer hidden from the sufferer.
And so now that God has shown his face, David will lead the congregation in praise
Praise From The Congregation of All Israel (vv. 22-23, 25-26)
But David’s song of praise is different to his song of pain. For in his pain, David was profoundly alone. There was no-one to help him and he experienced God-forsakenness (v. 11). But in his praise, David is no longer alone. He seeks fellow worshippers. “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemers praise.” Here is David the evangelist. For we have moved from his dark bedroom to the lighted expanse of the temple. And the king gathers his people to celebrate. David brings with him all Israel in his praise. Verse 22:
22:22I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
Again, verse 25:
22:25From you comes my praise in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.
He was despised by the people (v. 6), but now he blesses the people in return. In all probability, his blessing also includes those people who did nothing to alleviate his affliction, and perhaps even the ones who once disdained the king. Now the king liberally gives his blessings (Weiser, OTL, 225) in verse 26:
22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek Yahweh will praise him. May your hearts live forever.
So this king responds to cursing with blessings. In return for evil he does good. And he wishes the poor and the meek eternal life. And with this, the king looks forward to the time when he fulfils his vow in the midst of the congregation. He doesn’t keep the salvation to which he looks all to himself, but looks forward to publicly announcing it and throwing a celebratory BBQ. They Jews called it a ‘vow offering’.
In Deuteronomy 12:17-19, there are laws for the vow offering. These are the sacrifices someone brings to thank God for delivering them. So the person rescued by God and who freely made his vow would take his offering to Jerusalem, the place God chose. The animal would be sacrificed by the priests and eaten there. And the worshipper would take with him not just his own family, but also the Levites—the members of the community who were in danger of being neglected and forgotten, because they had no land and were dependent on the community. And together they would rejoice and feast before the LORD (Kidner, Psalms, 108).
And here in this psalm, king David looks forward to bringing the poor of the community into his joy when Yahweh delivers him. He has vowed, and when his deliverance comes, he will offer his sacrifice, and he will feed the poor who join the king in his celebration. The king will bless them and they will praise Yahweh together.
But it is not enough that the king turn the people of Israel to the Lord. His salvation from affliction must lead to worldwide conversion. And the nations also must join him in his feast. All the nations will turn to the Yahweh in verses 27-29:
22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh, and all the families of the nations will bow down before you. 22:28For sovereignty belongs to Yahweh, and he rules over the nations. 22:29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship. Before him all who go down to the dust will kneel, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
All mortal men doomed to die owe Yahweh their allegiance. So they are all invited into the kings’ thanksgiving. All generations will praise his righteousness. But even worldwide praise of Yahweh is insufficient. For king David looks to future generations. The unborn must know about Yahweh, who saved his Christ from his affliction. Yahweh’s righteousness must be made known to them, and so we read in verses 30-31:
22:30Offspring will serve him, the [coming] generation will be told about the Lord. 22:31They will come and declare his righteousness to a people being born, for he has done it.
Posterity—the future generations—will serve him and be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn for he has done it. Yahweh has saved. Yahweh is righteous. Yahweh has done it, and his work of salvation is complete. That is what the king, in the midst of his suffering, is looking forward to. People from every time and place and generation are all drawn into the celebration of the one who was once afflicted.
The king’s affliction was the epitome of aloneness and abandonment. But the king’s celebration is cosmic, transcending time and space.
But not only is this a psalm of king David. For it is also a psalm of King Jesus, David’s greater son. For Jesus too has cause for a dual song of pain and praise. He too, can sing with soul the two movements of Psalm 22. And Psalm 22 is one of the places where the Spirit of Christ “predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Pet 1:11).
For when we look at the accounts of Jesus’ death in the Gospels, we are seeing the circumstances of Psalm 22 before our eyes. For Jesus is presented—like his lesser ancestor David as the king of the Jews (Matt 27:11), but he also is a king mocked, a lonely king and afflicted, who is spat on and repeatedly hit on the head with his sceptre.
And as Jesus heads towards his own death, we see the minute fulfillment of Psalm 22 as a prophecy of the Christ. We see the event that Psalm 22 ultimately spoke of a thousand years before it came to pass. David spoke more than he knew when he said, “they have pierced my hands and feet”. For Jesus Christ’s hands and feet were pierced with the nails of crucifixion. From the soldiers casting lots for Jesus clothing (Matt 27:35), to the shaking heads and the mocking calls (Matt 27:39), and even Jesus’ thirst (John 19:28)—the suffering of Jesus on the cross matches that of the psalmist one thousand years before.
And so that we have no doubt, Matthew records that the psalm, Psalm 22, was quoted that day. From the priests unwitting quote of Psalm 22 verse 8 in their mockery—“He trusts in God, let God deliver him now, if he desires him” (Luke 23:35-36; Matt 26:24, 27:43)—to Jesus’ deliberate and provocative quote of the psalm’s first verse, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34). So the Lord Jesus Christ performs the first movement of this ancient symphony.
Yet there is a difference between king David and his greater Son, Jesus. For the praise of David in Psalm 22 comes because he is saved from death, but Jesus in his crucifixion is plunged into death itself. Jesus is not saved from death—not immediately anyway. In the psalm, David is taken to the brink of death, but doesn’t enter into it, but Jesus is taken and cast into the abyss of death and abandoned by God his Father into it.
That is Jesus’ pain—but we cannot enter it. His pain was for him alone, expressed in his cry of dereliction: “My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus’ pain during the crucifixion was multi-layered. But at its core, it was the experience of abandonment by his Father. And that begs the question of us, why? Why did he experience this God-forsaken-ness. Why was the ‘Song of Pain’ necessary?
And the answer is readily at hand. The answer is found in the second movement of the psalm, the ‘Song of Praise’. For while Jesus’ pain was for him alone, his praise was not. He experienced God-forsakenness, yes, because God had forsaken him in one sense, yet God had never forsaken him, in another sense. For God did not despise or disdain the suffering of the afflicted one. The suffering of God’s Christ is precious to God. Jesus knew that God had heard his prayer. Jesus knew that God had listened to his cries.
The author to the Hebrews points this out, for he recognizes that this psalm is ultimately a psalm of king Jesus.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises”. (Heb 2:10-12)
The reason for the king’s pain was the praise that would follow. The pain was for him alone, but in his praise, Jesus brings the congregation of Israel, and indeed the nations, with him. Even the later generations will come and join in. The affliction of the afflicted one evokes praise across time and space.
Jesus alone experienced the pain but shares his praise with all the poor who fear the Lord—and with you, too, if you would come to him. You who are poor, he invites to his feast. The king, Jesus, seeks to bless you. He wishes that your hearts would live forever. And he wants you to enter into the benefits of his pain, to the praise of God the Father, which you can do by trusting him.
And so what is left for us, the future generations, the people yet unborn? We can remember and turn to the Lord—to worship him, kneel before him, serve him, and to live for him.
And in verse 31 this culminates in our proclamation of him, that we proclaim his righteousness for he has done it. Our task is to proclaim that, “It is finished” and “He has done it”.
What can we do, but worship and serve God, and his afflicted one, who was forsaken but heard by God the Father, and to proclaim the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ to the nations around us.
Let’s pray.
For the director of music. To ‘The Doe of the Dawn’. A psalm of David.
22:1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from my salvation, [from] the words of my roaring?
22:2O my God, I cry out in the day, and you do not answer, and at night, and there is no respite for me.
22:3But you are holy, dwelling in the praises of Israel.
22:4In you our fathers put their trust. They trusted and you brought them into safety.
22:5They cried out to you and were delivered. In you they trusted, and were not ashamed.
22:6But I am a worm and not a man, an embarrassment of man and despised of the people.
22:7All who see me laugh at me. They open their mouths wide, they shake their heads:
22:8“Roll over your cause onto Yahweh, he will bring him into safety. Let him deliver him since he delights in him.”
22:9For you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you when I was upon my mother’s breast.
22:10I was cast upon you from the womb, you have been my God from the belly of my mother.
22:11Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, for there is no-one to help.
22:12Many bulls are surrounding me, strong ones of Bashan have encircled me,
22:13They open wide their mouths against me, a lion tearing and roaring.
22:14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax. It has melted away inside me.
22:15My strength has dried up like a piece of broken pottery, and my tongue sticks to my mouth. And you lay me in the dust of death.
22:16For dogs have surrounded me, a band of evil men has enclosed around me. They have pierced my hands and my feet.
22:17I can count all my bones. They look at me and stare.
22:18They divide my garments among them and they cast lots for my clothing.
22:19But you, O Yahweh, do not be far off. O my strength, come quickly to my aid.
22:20Deliver my life from the sword, my valuable life from the hand of the dogs.
22:21Save me from the mouth of the lion, from the horns of the wild oxen. You have answered me. [See NIV margin. RV, NASB, NKJV, Shead, Hebrew, NRSV mg]
22:22I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
22:23You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All the offspring of Jacob, honour him! Revere him, all the offspring of Israel!
22:24For he has not despised or abhorred the suffering of the afflicted one, and he has not hidden his face from him but when he cried out, he listened to him.
22:25From you comes my praise in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.
22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek Yahweh will praise him. May your hearts live forever.
22:27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to Yahweh, and all the families of the nations will bow down before you.
22:28For sovereignty belongs to Yahweh, and he rules over the nations.
22:29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship. Before him all who go down to the dust will kneel, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
22:30Offspring will serve him, the [coming] generation will be told about the Lord.
22:31They will come and declare his righteousness to a people being born, for he has done it.
The Masoretic Text (MT) as represented by BHS at verse 17c reads כָּאֲרִי, יָדַי וְרַגְלָי. This is usually translated as "like a lion, my hands and my feet". The first word in the phrase, כָּאֲרִי, is then taken to be the prepositional prefix, כּ, with one of the nouns for 'lion', singular. This reading according to BHS represents the majority of MT manuscripts. However, there are two problems with the majority reading in the MT. The first is that the clause is without a verb. While it is conceivable that the verse could be read to make sense as it is, and there have been attempts to do this, the elision of the verb seems quite harsh. This is reflected by the ancient versions, which almost universally tend to read a verb here for this form. The second problem is that the form of the word for 'lion' in verse 17 Heb differs from the two other instances in Psalm 22, found in verses 14, 22 Heb (אַרְיֵה).
Mitchell Dahood's initial analysis did not resort emendation but he still rendered the verse, "For dogs have surrounded me, a pack of evildoers encircle me, piercing my hands and my feet", and commented that the "Much-contested k’ry is here tentatively analyzed as an infinitive absolute from kry, “to dig,” with the archaic ending -i, as in Gen xxx 8, xlix 11; Exod xv 6 [...] The aleph would be intrusive as, [...] " (Mitchell Dahood, The Anchor Yale Bible, Psalms I 1-50: A New Translation With Introduction And Commentary, Yale University Press, 1968), Volume 17, pp. 137, 140-141).
BHS indicates that there are two alternative readings within the Hebrew MT tradition. The first alternative reading is כארוּ, which BHS says is read in some manuscripts. The second is כָּרוּ, which BHS says is found in two manuscripts in the Masoretic tradition. The most likely root for these forms would be כָּרָה, meaning to 'dig', 'bore', usually of a well. The second of these forms כָּר֣וּ is well attested as Qal Pf 3rd common plural form of the verb כָּרָה (Psalms 57:6; 119:85; Jer 18:20, 22). Thus, as it stands, the less well attested variant in the MT tradition should be translated, "They dug my hands and my feet". There is nothing controversial about this. It is difficult to see how Jewish scribes would correct a reading like כארי to כרו, given the polemical nature of the controversy between Jews and Christians. The polemic context cannot be ignored. While syntactically, the reading כארי is harder, sociologically and religiously for Jews after the coming of Jesus Christ, כרו would be harder. The principle of lex difficilior (lectio difficilior lectio potior --'the more difficult reading is the more probable reading') can cut both ways.
Support is provided for this reading by the published editions of 4Q88 Psalms f (4QPsalmsf, 4QPsf). According to the Lexham Press Edition of Fragments 1–2 (https://www.logos.com/product/27979/4q88-psalms-f ), it gives Psalm 22:17c as line 25: ה֯ק֯י֯פ֯נ֯י֯ כ֯ר֯[ו ]י̇ד̇י וֿרֿג̇ל֯י֯ . So too does Eugene Ulrich, The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variations (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 634 online at https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls/page/n1/mode/2up . The online DSS in English takes this as the verb 'they pierced my hands and my feet' (http://dssenglishbible.com/psalms%2022.htm). Photos of fragment 1 are found at https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-367901 and https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-367900. I have been unable to ascertain for myself the accuracy of these transcriptions. However, I note that in an earlier version of this work, the editors did not feel the same confidence to propose in 1998 the reading כָּרוּ (SKEHAN, PATRICK W., EUGENE ULRICH, and PETER W. FLINT. "A Scroll Containing "Biblical" and "Apocryphal" Psalms: A Preliminary Edition of 4QPs F (4Q88)." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 60, no. 2 (1998): 267-82 at 270. Accessed August 10, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/43723259. )
Of the more well attested MT variant, כארו, the final waw might be explained by scribal elongation of the yod. However, it might indicate a final shuruk ending which could suggest a 3rd common plural perfect verb form (in fact, it seems to have done so to the versions. The problem with this solution is that there is no other instance of this form. Kidner proposes that the aleph (א) might stand as a vowel indicator, as it does elsewhere (citing Josh 20:8 cf. with 21:36 and the two instances of the noun 'Ramoth'. Keil and Deilitzsch cite for the same purpose ראמה in Zechariah 14:10 derived from רמה (https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=KD|reference=Psa.22). Kidner prefers to take it as the plural construct of the Qal Participle of כור (D Kidner, Psalms 1-72: TOTC, Downers Grove/Nottingham: IVP, 1973/2008, 125). This of course is possible as aleph can intrude in different circumstances, but the weakness of this is that, as indicated in BDB, the only possible instance of this form is here, with no other attested instances in the OT (BDB, online at https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3738.htm).
Support is provided for the consonantal reading כארו by a recent discovery of a fragment of Psalm 22:17 Heb in 5/6 Hev–Sev 4Ps Fragment 11, but the fragment elsewhere has some anomalous spellings in any case, and while it looks like a waw, elongation of a yod is possible. However, in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, the editors confirm this reading by saying, “Although the photograph [. . .] is very faded, most of the letters are clearly identifiable under magnification" and the editors conclude that "with waw (ו) and yod (י) clearly distinguishable in this hand [...] this important variant [כארו] reading is assured." (James Charlesworth et al, Miscellaneous Texts from the Judaean Desert, in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, 38 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000), 38:160–61., quoted in Shon Hopkin, 'The Psalm 22:16 Controversy: New Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls', BYU Studies (2005) 44, No. 3 , 161-172 at 167).
Further support is provided by the Masora on Isaiah 38:13, according to Delitzsch, which observes the occurence of k’ari in both instances (Psalm 22:.17, Isaiah 38:13), "occurs in two different meanings (לישׁני בתרי); just as the Midrash then also understands כארי in the Psalm as a verb used of marking with conjuring, magic characters." (Karl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch ( 1864, 10 volume commentary on the Old Testament, online at https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=KD|reference=Psa.22 ).
Of the 17 instances in the OT, the direct object of the verb usually is the structure that is result of the action of the verb--i.e., a well, grave, pit (e.g., Gen 26:25; 50:5; Exod 21:33; Num 21:18; 2 Chr 16:14; 7:15; Psalms 57:6; 94:13; 119:85; Prov 26:27; Jer 18:20, 22). One instance indicates a metaphorical result, the direct object being רָעָ֑ה, 'evil', although it could indicate that which is dug, the substance experiencing the digging. One instance, Psalm 40:6 [Heb v. 7], אָ֭זְנַיִם כָּרִ֣יתָ לִּ֑י , ('ears you have dug for me') could conceivably describe the creation of the ear cavity, or also or in the alternative the enabling of the ear cavity already made by God to be used to now obey God's word, that is, not just hear but also obey. If the latter is the case, the ear is not the result of the digging, but the site of the digging, and thus would be analogous to the hands and feet (Psalm 22:17 Heb) being the site of the digging. Goldingay regards this as the traditional understanding (Psalms 1-41: BCOTWP, 1:572). As Harman says, "the reference to the piercing of his ears is probably to his readiness to hear the word of the LORD and obey it, as the following verse makes plain" (Allan Harman, A Commentary on the Psalms: Mentor., Christian Focus: Fearne, 1998, 174).
When we turn to the LXX, the translator of Psalm 22 [LXX Ps 21:17] apparently read כָּרוּ, since the LXX gives the translation given is ὤρυξαν χεῗράς μου καὶ πόδας || 'they dug my hands and feet'. Verb ὤρυξαν is AAI3P of ὀρύσσω, which according to LSJM means, 'dig', 'dig into', 'gouge', 'dig through' (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph.jsp?l=%E1%BD%A4%CF%81%CF%85%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD&la=greek#lexicon).
According to Keil and Delitzsch, the versions all take the form as a verb, including the Targum, and they take the versions to have to read כארו, so Aquila's 1st edition rendering ᾔσχυαν, 2nd edition like Symmachus, "they have bound", Jerome's translations vinxerunt and fixerunt, Vulg. foderunt, the Peshita, בזעו (online at https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=KD|reference=Psa.22 ).
By the time of Justin Martyr (c. AD 100-165), the LXX text was adequately established for him to make arguments based on Psalm 22:16 Eng in his First Apology, ch 35, and Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chs 98-99 (E.T Marcus Dods and George Reith, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. (Eds) Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885; revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight and available at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm and http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01287.htm.