Psalms 38 (NET)

Psalm 381

1 A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.2

O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!

Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury!3

2 For your arrows pierce4 me,

and your hand presses me down.5

3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;6

I am deprived of health because of my sin.7

4 For my sins overwhelm me;8

like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

5 My wounds9 are infected and starting to smell,10

because of my foolish sins.11

6 I am dazed12 and completely humiliated;13

all day long I walk around mourning.

7 For I am overcome with shame14

and my whole body is sick.15

8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;16

I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.17

9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;18

my groaning is not hidden from you.

10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see.19

11 Because of my condition,20 even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;21

my neighbors stand far away.22

12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;23

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;

I am like a mute who cannot speak.24

14 I am like a man who cannot hear

and is incapable of arguing his defense.25

15 Yet26 I wait for you, O Lord!

You will respond, O Lord, my God!

16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;27

when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.28

17 For I am about to stumble,

and I am in constant pain.29

18 Yes,30 I confess my wrongdoing,

and I am concerned about my sins.

19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;31

those who hate me without cause outnumber me.32

20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;

though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.33

21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!

My God, do not remain far away from me!

22 Hurry and help me,34 O Lord, my deliverer!

1sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him. 2tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303). 3tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.sn Compare Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording. 4tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13). 5tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2). 6tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin. 7tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.” 8tn Heb “pass over my head.” 9sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows. 10tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB). 11tn Heb “from before my foolishness.” 12tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.” 13tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.” 14tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”). 15tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3). 16tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.” 17tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.” 18tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.” 19tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23). 20tn Or “wound,” or “illness.” 21tn Heb “stand [aloof].” 22tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.” 23tn Heb “lay snares.” 24sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14). 25tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.” 26tn Or perhaps “surely.” 27tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1). 28tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13. 29tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.” 30tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here. 31tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”). 32tn Heb “are many.” 33tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.” 34tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.