Berean Standard Bible
BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
The Pioneer Translation RenderingRendered from the original Hebrew
Psalm 22:6
My God Why Have You Forsaken Me
But I am a crimson worm and not a man — scorned by humanity and despised by the people.
The Hebrew *tola'ath* (תוֹלַעַת) is rendered "crimson worm" rather than the conventional "worm" alone. This preserves the specific species — the *coccus ilicis*, a worm crushed to produce crimson dye — which carries deep resonance with sacrifice and suffering. *Cherpat adam* (חֶרְפַּת אָדָם) means "scorn/reproach of humanity," and *bəzuy am* (וּבְזוּי עָם) means "despised of the people" — both translated at full force without softening the shame language.
Compare the wording
The same verse across the licensed translations and the Hebrew
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King James Version
BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
6But you have not rescued me People despise me and consider that I am not a man; they think that I am as worthless as a worm! Everyone [HYP]HyperboleDeliberate exaggeration for emphasis. T4T flags this so translators do not render the exaggeration literally in languages where it would be misunderstood. scorns me and despises me.
Berean Standard Bible
King James Version
BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
6
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Berean Standard Bible
King James Version
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →BSB and T4T shown with Greek annotations — · Why we show the Greek →
6
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
But you have not rescued me People despise me and consider that I am not a man; they think that I am as worthless as a worm! Everyone [HYP]HyperboleDeliberate exaggeration for emphasis. T4T flags this so translators do not render the exaggeration literally in languages where it would be misunderstood. scorns me and despises me.
WLC
Hebrew, word by word
6
וְאָנֹכִ֣י me אָנֹכִי ʼânôkîy sometimes, ; a primitive pronoun; I I, me, [idiom] which. תוֹלַ֣עַת crimson worm תּוֹלָע tôwlâʻ and (feminine) תּוֹלֵעָה; or תּוֹלַעַת; or תֹּלַעַת; from H3216 (יָלַע); a maggot (as voracious); specifically (often with ellipsis of H8144 (שָׁנִי)) the crims וְלֹא ere לֹא lôʼ or לוֹא; or לֹה; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles [idiom] before ־ אִ֑ישׁ man אִישׁ ʼîysh contracted for H582 (אֱנוֹשׁ) (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to חֶרְפַּ֥ת rebuke חֶרְפָּה cherpâh from H2778 (חָרַף); contumely, disgrace, the pudenda rebuke, reproach(-fully), shame. אָ֝דָ֗ם man אָדָם ʼâdâm from H119 (אָדַם); ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.) [idiom] another, [phrase] hypocrite, [phrase] common sort, [idiom] low וּבְז֥וּי despise בָּזָה bâzâh a primitive root; to disesteem despise, disdain, contemn(-ptible), [phrase] think to scorn, vile person. עָֽם people עַם ʻam from H6004 (עָמַם); a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flo ׃
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
Functional Faith Reading
The Hebrew word here is tola'ath — the crimson worm, the same word used throughout the Hebrew scriptures for the scarlet dye extracted from a crushed insect. It is not the generic word for worm. The Psalmist is reaching for something specific, something that bleeds its color into everything around it.
Most readings treat this verse as poetic self-deprecation — humility language from a man under pressure. That reading is not wrong, but it stops too early. It misses the weight of the specific word chosen and the way the New Testament writers heard it echoing from the wooden pole.
The Pioneer, hanging on that stake, embodied tola'ath in full. He was not performing weakness — he was genuinely crushed, genuinely creaturely, and genuinely despised. The Father's firstborn did not float above the suffering; he entered it from inside. This is precisely what makes him followable: he was made of the same material as the people he pioneered for, and he bled his color into them.
For someone walking the Way today, this verse is a permission slip. Feeling crushed does not mean the Father has abandoned you. The Pioneer felt it first and walked through it first.
Sit with this
When have you allowed yourself to feel the full weight of your creaturely smallness rather than rushing past it toward resolution?
Sources