Psalms 38
The psalmist groans under the LORD's chastening hand, confessing that his iniquities have gone over his head like a heavy burden. His wounds stink, his friends stand far off, and his enemies plot against him, yet he waits silently for the LORD and pleads: do not forsake me.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. | LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. |
| 2 | For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. | Your arrows have pierced me, and Your hand has come down on me. |
| 3 | There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. | Because of Your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. |
| 4 | For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. | My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. |
| 5 | My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. | My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. |
| 6 | I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. | I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. |
| 7 | For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. | My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. |
| 8 | I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. | I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. |
| 9 | Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. | All my longings lie open before You, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from You. |
| 10 | My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. | My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. |
| 11 | My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. | My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. |
| 12 | They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. | Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie. |
| 13 | But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. | I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; |
| 14 | Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. | I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. |
| 15 | For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. | LORD, I wait for You; You will answer, Lord my God. |
| 16 | For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. | For I said, "Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip." |
| 17 | For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. | For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. |
| 18 | For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. | I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. |
| 19 | But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. | Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous. |
| 20 | They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. | Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. |
| 21 | Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. | LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. |
| 22 | Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation. | Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior. |