burnt offering and whole-offering; then people will take up bulls11 onto your altar. With Ps. 38 this is one of only two psalms that focus on confessing sin. It begins with appeals for cleansing in vv. 1–2, which are taken further in vv. 7–9; meanwhile, vv. 3–6 form the psalm’s acknowledgment of the nature of wrongdoing. Verses 1–9 thus form a stepped structure, outlined further in the introduction to vv. 7–9 below. Verses 10–12 then add appeal for inner renewal, vv. 13–15 for the