Psalms 38:5

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.

Psalms 38:5 in Other Translations

5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,

5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.

5 The cuts in my flesh stink and grow maggots because I've lived so badly.

5 My wounds are foul and festering 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 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.

6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.

7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.

Cross References

• 1. ver 11; Psalms 147:3
• 2. Job 19:17
• 3. Psalms 69:5; Proverbs 5:23; Proverbs 12:23; Proverbs 13:16; Ecclesiastes 10:3