Psalm 38:1-22
A melody of David, to serve as a reminder.*
38 O Jehovah, do not reprove me in your anger,Nor correct me in your wrath.+
2 For your arrows have pierced deep into me,And your hand presses down on me.+
3 My whole body is sick* because of your indignation.
There is no peace within my bones because of my sin.+
4 For my errors loom over my head;+Like a heavy burden, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds stink and festerBecause of my foolishness.
6 I am distressed and extremely downcast;I walk around sad all day long.
7 There is a burning within me;*My whole body is sick.+
8 I have grown numb and become completely crushed;My anguished heart makes me groan aloud.*
9 O Jehovah, all my desires are before you,And my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength is gone,And the light of my eyes has left me.+
11 My friends and my companions avoid me because of my plague,And my close acquaintances keep their distance.
12 Those seeking my life* set traps;Those trying to harm me speak of ruin;+They mutter deception all day long.
13 But like someone deaf, I would not listen;+Like someone speechless, I would not open my mouth.+
14 I have become like a man who cannot hear,Whose mouth has nothing to say in defense.
15 For on you, O Jehovah, I waited,+And you answered me, O Jehovah my God.+
16 For I said: “May they not gloat over meOr exalt themselves over me if my foot slips.”
17 For I was ready to collapse,And my pain was always with me.+
18 I confessed my error;+I was troubled by my sin.+
19 But my enemies are vigorous* and mighty,*Those hating me for no reason have become numerous.
20 They repaid me with bad for good;They were resisting me for pursuing what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Jehovah.
O God, do not remain far away from me.+
22 Do hurry to help me,O Jehovah, my salvation.+
Footnotes
^ Or “to bring to remembrance.”
^ Lit., “There is no sound spot in my flesh.”
^ Lit., “My loins are full of burning.”
^ Or “roar.”
^ Or “my soul.”
^ Lit., “alive.”
^ Or possibly, “But my enemies without cause are many.”