Psalm 38

Prayer of a Suffering Sinner

A psalm of David to bring remembrance.(A)

Lord, do not punish me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.(B)
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has pressed down on me.(C)

There is no soundness in my body
because of your indignation;
there is no health[a] in my bones
because of my sin.(D)
For my iniquities have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.(E)
My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.(F)
I am bent over and brought very low;
all day long I go around in mourning.(G)
For my insides are full of burning pain,
and there is no soundness in my body.(H)
I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart.(I)

Lord, my every desire is in front of you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.(J)
10 My heart races, my strength leaves me,
and even the light of my eyes has faded.[b](K)
11 My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,
and my relatives stand at a distance.(L)
12 Those who intend to kill me set traps,
and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;
they plot treachery all day long.(M)

13 I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.
I am like a speechless person
who does not open his mouth.(N)
14 I am like a man who does not hear
and has no arguments in his mouth.(O)
15 For I put my hope in you, Lord;
you will answer me, my Lord, my God.(P)
16 For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me—
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”(Q)
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is constantly with me.(R)
18 So I confess my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.(S)
19 But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;[c]
many hate me for no reason.(T)
20 Those who repay evil for good
attack me for pursuing good.(U)

21 Lord, do not abandon me;
my God, do not be far from me.(V)
22 Hurry to help me,
my Lord, my salvation.(W)

Footnotes

  1. 38:3 Hb shalom
  2. 38:10 Or and the light of my eyes—even that is not with me
  3. 38:19 Or numerous

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,(A) 20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent,[a] humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.(B)

22 But(C) be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face[b] in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.(D)

26 If anyone[c] thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue,(E) his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows(F) in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:21 Or the abundance of evil
  2. 1:23 Or at his natural face
  3. 1:26 Other mss add among you

18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,(A)
shining brighter and brighter until midday.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;(B)
they don’t know what makes them stumble.(C)

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