Psalm 38-42

New American Standard Bible

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

38 Lord, ^(A)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me in Your burning anger.
²For Your ^(B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And ^(C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
³There is ^(D)no healthy part in my flesh ^(E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health ^(F)in my bones because of my sin.
⁴For my ^(G)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
⁵My ^[a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of ^(H)my foolishness.
⁶I am bent over and ^(I)greatly bowed down;
I ^(J)go in mourning all day long.
⁷For my ^[b]sides are filled with ^(K)burning,
And there is ^(L)no healthy part in my flesh.
⁸I feel ^(M)faint and ^[c]badly crushed;
I ^[d]^(N)groan because of the ^[e]agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all ^(O)my desire is ^[f]before You;
And my ^(P)sighing is not hidden from You.
¹⁰My heart throbs, ^(Q)my strength fails me;
And the ^(R)light of my eyes, even ^[g]that ^[h]has gone from me.
¹¹My ^[i]^(S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen ^(T)stand far away.
¹²Those who ^(U)seek my life ^(V)lay snares for me;
And those who ^(W)seek to injure me have ^[j]threatened destruction,
And they ^(X)plot deception all day long.

¹³But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a ^(Y)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
¹⁵For ^(Z)I wait for You, Lord;
You ^(AA)will answer, Lord my God.
¹⁶For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, ^(AB)would exalt themselves over me.”
¹⁷For I am ^(AC)ready to fall,
And ^(AD)my ^[k]sorrow is continually before me.
¹⁸For I ^(AE)admit my guilt;
I am full of ^(AF)anxiety because of my sin.
¹⁹But my ^(AG)enemies are vigorous and ^[l]strong,
And those who wrongfully ^(AH)hate me are many.
²⁰And those who ^(AI)repay evil for good,
They ^(AJ)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
²¹Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, ^(AK)do not be far from me!
²²^(AL)Hurry to help me,
Lord, ^(AM)my salvation!

The Futility of Life.

For the music director, for ^[m]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will ^(AN)keep watch over my ways
So that I ^(AO)do not sin with my tongue;
I will keep watch over ^(AP)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
²I was ^(AQ)mute ^[n]and silent,
I ^[o]refused to say even something good,
And my pain was stirred up.
³My ^(AR)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
⁴“Lord, let me know ^(AS)my end,
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how ^(AT)transient I am.
⁵Behold, You have made ^(AU)my days like ^[p]hand widths,
And my ^(AV)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Certainly all mankind standing is ^[q]a mere ^(AW)breath. Selah
⁶Certainly every person ^(AX)walks around as ^[r]a fleeting shadow;
They certainly make an ^(AY)uproar for nothing;
He ^(AZ)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My ^(BA)hope is in You.
⁸^(BB)Save me from all my wrongdoings;
Do not make me an object of ^(BC)reproach for the foolish.
⁹I have become ^(BD)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is ^(BE)You who have done it.
¹⁰^(BF)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of ^(BG)the opposition of Your hand I am ^[s]perishing.
¹¹With ^(BH)rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing;
You ^(BI)consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Certainly ^(BJ)all mankind is mere breath! Selah

¹²“^(BK)Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help;
Do not be silent ^(BL)to my tears;
For I am ^(BM)a stranger with You,
^(BN)One who lives abroad, like all my fathers.
¹³^(BO)Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again
Before I depart and am no more.”

God Sustains His Servant.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(BP)waited ^[t]patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and ^(BQ)heard my cry.
²He brought me up out of the ^(BR)pit of ^[u]destruction, out of the mud;
And ^(BS)He set my feet on a rock, ^(BT)making my footsteps firm.
³He put a ^(BU)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will ^(BV)see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴How ^(BW)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And ^(BX)has not turned to the ^[v]proud, nor to those who ^(BY)become involved in falsehood.
⁵Many, Lord my God, are ^(BZ)the wonders which You have done,
And Your ^(CA)thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They ^(CB)would be too numerous to count.

⁶^(CC)You have not desired ^[w]sacrifice and meal offering;
You have ^[x]opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is ^[y]written of me in the scroll of the book.
⁸^(CD)I delight to do Your will, my God;
^(CE)Your Law is within my ^[z]heart.”

⁹I have ^(CF)proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will ^(CG)not restrain my lips,
Lord, ^(CH)You know.
¹⁰I have ^(CI)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have ^(CJ)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.

¹¹You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
^[aa]Your ^(CK)mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
¹²For evils beyond number have ^(CL)surrounded me;
My ^(CM)guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are ^(CN)more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my ^(CO)heart has ^[ab]failed me.

¹³^(CP)Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
^(CQ)Hurry, Lord, to help me.
¹⁴May those be ^(CR)ashamed and humiliated together
Who ^(CS)seek my ^[ac]life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight ^[ad]in my hurt.
¹⁵May those ^(CT)be ^[ae]appalled because of their shame
Who ^(CU)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
¹⁶^(CV)May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually ^(CW)say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
¹⁷But ^(CX)I am afflicted and needy;
^(CY)May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.

The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is one who ^(CZ)considers the ^[af]helpless;
The Lord will save him ^(DA)on a day of ^[ag]trouble.
²The Lord will ^(DB)protect him and keep him alive,
And he will be called ^[ah]^(DC)blessed upon the earth;
And ^(DD)do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.
³The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You ^[ai]restore him to health.

⁴As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
^(DE)Heal my soul, for ^(DF)I have sinned against You.”
⁵My enemies ^(DG)speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And ^[aj]when he comes to see me, he ^(DH)speaks ^[ak]empty words;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;
They ^(DI)plot my harm against me, saying,
⁸“A wicked thing is poured out ^[al]upon him,
So that when he lies down, he will ^(DJ)not get up again.”
⁹Even my ^[am]^(DK)close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, Lord, be gracious to me and ^(DL)raise me up,
That I may repay them.
¹¹By this I know that ^(DM)You are pleased with me,
Because ^(DN)my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
¹²As for me, ^(DO)You uphold me in my integrity,
And You place me ^(DP)in Your presence forever.

¹³^(DQ)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the music director. A ^[an]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer ^[ao]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul ^[ap]^(DR)pants for You, God.
²My soul ^(DS)thirsts for God, for the ^(DT)living God;
When shall I come and ^[aq]^(DU)appear before God?
³My ^(DV)tears have been my food day and night,
While they ^(DW)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
⁴I remember these things and ^(DX)pour out my soul within me.
For I ^(DY)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of ^(DZ)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.

⁵^(EA)Why are you ^[ar]^(EB)in despair, my soul?
And why are you ^(EC)restless within me?
^(ED)Wait for God, for I will ^[as]again praise ^[at]Him
For the ^[au]^(EE)help of His ^[av]presence, my God.
⁶My soul is ^[aw]in despair within me;
Therefore I ^(EF)remember You from ^(EG)the land of the Jordan
And the ^[ax]peaks of ^(EH)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
⁷Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your ^(EI)breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
⁸The Lord will ^(EJ)send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me ^(EK)in the night,
A prayer to ^(EL)the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God ^(EM)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about ^(EN)mourning ^[ay]because of the ^(EO)oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they ^(EP)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
¹¹^(EQ)Why are you ^[az]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise ^[ba]Him
For the ^[bb]help of His presence, my God.

Footnotes

Psalm 38:5 Or stripes
Psalm 38:7 Lit loins
Psalm 38:8 Or greatly
Psalm 38:8 Lit roar
Psalm 38:8 Lit growling
Psalm 38:9 Or known to You
Psalm 38:10 Lit they have
Psalm 38:10 Lit is not with me
Psalm 38:11 Or lovers
Psalm 38:12 Lit spoken
Psalm 38:17 Lit pain
Psalm 38:19 Or numerous
Psalm 39 Title 1 Chr 16:41
Psalm 39:2 Lit with silence
Psalm 39:2 Lit was silent from good
Psalm 39:5 I.e., short
Psalm 39:5 Or altogether breath
Psalm 39:6 Lit an image
Psalm 39:10 Or wasting away
Psalm 40:1 Or intently
Psalm 40:2 Lit wasteland; i.e., the underworld
Psalm 40:4 Or enemies
Psalm 40:6 I.e., blood sacrifice
Psalm 40:6 Lit dug; or possibly pierced
Psalm 40:7 Or prescribed for
Psalm 40:8 Lit inner being
Psalm 40:11 Or May...preserve
Psalm 40:12 Lit forsaken
Psalm 40:14 Or soul
Psalm 40:14 Or to injure me
Psalm 40:15 Or desolated
Psalm 41:1 Or poor
Psalm 41:1 Or evil
Psalm 41:2 Or happy
Psalm 41:3 Lit turn all his bed
Psalm 41:6 Or if he
Psalm 41:6 Lit worthlessness
Psalm 41:8 Or within
Psalm 41:9 Lit man of peace
Psalm 42 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 42:1 Lit longs for
Psalm 42:1 Lit longs for
Psalm 42:2 Some mss see the face of God
Psalm 42:5 Lit dissolved away
Psalm 42:5 Or still
Psalm 42:5 Some ancient versions Him, the help of my face and my God
Psalm 42:5 Or saving acts of
Psalm 42:5 Or presence. O my God, my soul...
Psalm 42:6 Or dissolved away
Psalm 42:6 Lit Hermons
Psalm 42:9 Or while the enemy oppresses
Psalm 42:11 Or dissolved away
Psalm 42:11 As in some ancient mss, cf. v 5; MT Him, the help of my face and my God
Psalm 42:11 Or saving acts of