Psalm 38

Prayer of a Suffering Sinner

A psalm of David to bring remembrance. ^a

¹Lord, do not punish me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath. ^b

²For your arrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has pressed down on me. ^c

³There is no soundness in my body

because of your indignation;

there is no health ^d in my bones

because of my sin. ^e

⁴For my iniquities have flooded over my head;

they are a burden too heavy for me to bear. ^f

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

because of my foolishness. ^g

⁶I am bent over and brought very low;

all day long I go around in mourning. ^h

⁷For my insides are full of burning pain,

and there is no soundness in my body. ⁱ

⁸I am faint and severely crushed;

I groan because of the anguish of my heart. ^j

⁹Lord, my every desire is in front of you;

my sighing is not hidden from you. ^k

¹⁰My heart races, my strength leaves me,

and even the light of my eyes has faded. ^l,^m

¹¹My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,

and my relatives stand at a distance. ⁿ

¹²Those who intend to kill me set traps,

and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;

they plot treachery all day long. ^o

¹³I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.

I am like a speechless person

who does not open his mouth. ^p

¹⁴I am like a man who does not hear

and has no arguments in his mouth. ^q

¹⁵For I put my hope in you, Lord;

you will answer me, my Lord, my God. ^r

¹⁶For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me —

those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.” ^s

¹⁷For I am about to fall,

and my pain is constantly with me. ^t

¹⁸So I confess my iniquity;

I am anxious because of my sin. ^u

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and powerful; ^v

many hate me for no reason. ^w

²⁰Those who repay evil for good

attack me for pursuing good. ^x

²¹Lord, do not abandon me;

my God, do not be far from me. ^y

²²Hurry to help me,

my Lord, my salvation. ^z