Psalm 38

PSALM 38

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

¹O Lord, ^arebuke me not in Your wrath,

And chasten me not in Your burning anger.

²For Your ^aarrows have sunk deep into me,

And ^bYour hand has pressed down on me.

³There is ^ano soundness in my flesh ^bbecause of Your indignation;

There is no health ^cin my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my ^ainiquities are gone over my head;

As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

⁵My ¹wounds grow foul and fester

Because of ^amy folly.

⁶I am bent over and ^agreatly bowed down;

I ^bgo mourning all day long.

⁷For my loins are filled with ^aburning,

And there is ^bno soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am ^abenumbed and ¹badly crushed;

I ^2bgroan because of the ³agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all ^amy desire is ¹before You;

And my ^bsighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart throbs, ^amy strength fails me;

And the ^blight of my eyes, even ¹that ²has gone from me.

¹¹My ^1aloved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;

And my kinsmen ^bstand afar off.

¹²Those who ^aseek my life ^blay snares for me;

And those who ^cseek to injure me have ¹threatened destruction,

And they ^ddevise treachery all day long.

¹³But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a ^amute man who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth are no arguments.

¹⁵For ^aI ¹hope in You, O Lord;

You ^bwill answer, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,

Who, when my foot slips, ^awould magnify themselves against me.”

¹⁷For I am ^aready to fall,

And ^bmy ¹sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸For I ^1aconfess my iniquity;

I am full of ^banxiety because of my sin.

¹⁹But my ^aenemies are vigorous and ¹strong,

And many are those who ^bhate me wrongfully.

²⁰And those who ^arepay evil for good,

They ^boppose me, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, ^ado not be far from me!

²²Make ^ahaste to help me,

O Lord, ^bmy salvation!