My God, my God. — Heb., Eli, Eli, lama azavtanî, where the Targum paraphrases sabbacthani, the form used by our Saviour on the cross. (See Notes, N. T. Comm., Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.) The LXX. and Vulgate insert “look upon me.” (Comp. English Prayer Book version.) For the despairing tone comp. Psalms 80:14. It suits the whole of pious Israel in her times of trouble even better than any individual.
The second part of the verse is obscure from its lyric conciseness, but the Authorised Version has given the meaning, though sacrificing the rhythm —
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,
Far from my aid, from the words of my groaning?”
i.e., far from listening to the words that escape me only in groans.
Roaring. — A word used generally of a lion (Isaiah 5:29; comp. Judges 14:5); but also of a man (Psalms 38:9). Hitzig’s conjecture, “from my cry,” instead of “from my help,” is very plausible, since it makes the parallelism complete and involves a very slight change. The LXX. and Vulg. have “the words of my offences.”