Psalms 38:11-21

11 My 1loved ones and my friends stand aloof * from my plague; And my kinsmen 2stand afar off.
12 Those who 3seek my life 4lay snares for me; And those who 5seek to injure me have threatened destruction, And they 6devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a 7mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For 8I hope in You, O LORD; You 9will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, "May they not rejoice over me, Who, when my foot slips, 10would magnify themselves against me."
17 For I am 11ready to fall, And 12my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I 13confess my iniquity; I am full of 14anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my 15enemies are vigorous and strong, And many are those who 16hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who 17repay evil for good, They 18oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, 19do not be far from me!

Psalms 38:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 38

\\<>\\. This psalm was composed by David under some sore affliction, and when in great distress of mind by reason of sin, perhaps his sin with Bathsheba; and was written as a memorial of his sense of sin, of his great afflictions, and deliverance from them; and therefore is said to be "to bring to remembrance", or to refresh his memory with the said things. Kimchi and Ben Melech think the psalm was made for the sake of such as are in distress, to put them in mind and teach them how to pray. The Targum calls the psalm, ``a good remembrance concerning Israel;'' and Jarchi says it was to remember the distress of Israel before the Lord, and that it is said with respect to all Israel; though others think the word "lehazcir" is the name of a psalm tune; and Aben Ezra was of opinion that it was the first word of some pleasant poem. The Septuagint version adds, ``concerning the sabbath,'' as if it was wrote to put persons in mind of that day; whereas there is nothing in the whole psalm that has any such tendency.

Cross References 19

Footnotes 6

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