Psalms 38

Prayer of a Suffering Sinner

1

A Davidic psalm for remembrance.

1 Lord, do not punish me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.[a]
2 For Your arrows have sunk into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my body because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my sins have flooded over my head; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.
5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and brought low; all day long I go around in mourning.
7 For my loins are full of burning pain, and there is no health in my body.
8 I am faint and severely crushed; I groan because of the anguish of my heart.
9 Lord, my every desire is known to[b] You; my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart races, my strength leaves me, and even the light of my eyes has faded.[c]
11 My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction, and my relatives stand at a distance.
12 Those who seek my life set traps, and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me; they plot treachery all day long.
13 I am like a deaf person; I do not hear. I am like a speechless person who does not open his mouth.
14 I am like a man who does not hear and has no arguments in his mouth.
15 I put my hope in You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, "Don't let them rejoice over me- those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble."
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is constantly with me.
18 So I confess my guilt; I am anxious because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;[d] many hate me for no reason.
20 Those who repay evil for good attack me for pursuing good.
21 Lord, do not abandon me; my God, do not be far from me.
22 Hurry to help me, Lord, my Savior.

Footnotes 4

Psalms 38 Commentaries

Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.