Psalms 38:5

5 I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness.

Psalms 38:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 38:5

My wounds stink, [and] are corrupt
Meaning his sins, which had wounded him, and for which there is no healing but in a wounded Saviour, and by his stripes we are healed, ( Isaiah 53:5 ) ; where the same word is used as here; Christ's black and blue stripes and wounds, as the word signifies, are the healing of ours, both of sins, and of the effects of them; which, to a sensible sinner, are as nauseous and loathsome as an old wound that is festered and corrupt;

because of my foolishness:
as all sin arises from foolishness, which is bound in the hearts of men, and from whence it arises, ( Mark 7:22 ) ; perhaps the psalmist may have respect to his folly with Bathsheba, which had been the occasion of all the distress that is spoken of both before and afterwards.

Psalms 38:5 In-Context

3 Your indignation left no part of me intact; my sin made my whole body sick;
4 for my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.
5 I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent down, prostrate completely; I go about mourning all day long.
7 For my insides burn with fever, and my whole body is sick.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.