Psalms 38

1 Yahweh, when you are angry [with me], do not rebuke/scold me and punish me!

A Psalm of David, in commemoration of the Sabbath. O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chastise me in your wrath.

2 [Now it is as though] you have shot your arrows at me and wounded me; you have struck me and knocked me down.

For your arrows have been driven into me, and your hand has been confirmed over me.

3 Because you have been angry with me, I am suffering great pain. Because of my sin, my whole body is diseased.

There is no health in my flesh before the face of your wrath. There is no peace for my bones before the face of my sins.

4 All my sins are [like a flood] that covers my head; they are like a load that is very heavy, with the result that I cannot carry it.

For my iniquities have walked over my head, and they have been like a heavy burden weighing upon me.

5 Because I have done foolish things, I have sores that have become worse, and they stink.

My sores have putrefied and been corrupted before the face of my foolishness.

6 [Sometimes] I am bent over, and [sometimes] I lie prostrate; I am sad/cry all day.

I have become miserable, and I have been bent down, even to the end. I have walked with contrition all day long.

7 My body is burning with fever, and I am very ill.

For my loins have been filled with illusions, and there is no health in my flesh.

8 I am completely exhausted, and I have no strength. I am very distressed, and I groan with pain.

I have been afflicted and greatly humbled. I bellowed from the groaning of my heart.

9 Yahweh, you know that I desire [to be healed]; you hear me while I am groaning.

O Lord, all my desire is before you, and my groaning before you has not been hidden.

10 My heat is pounding heavily, and all my strength is gone. I am no longer able to see well.

My heart has been disturbed. My strength has abandoned me, and the light of my eyes has abandoned me, and it is not with me.

11 My friends and neighbors stay away from me because of my sores; even my own family stays away from me.

My friends and my neighbors have drawn near and stood against me. And those who were next to me stood far apart. And those who sought my soul used violence.

12 And those who want to kill me set traps to catch me; those who want to harm me discuss ways to get rid of me; they plot against me all day.

And those who sought evil accusations against me were speaking emptiness. And they practiced deceitfulness all day long.

13 Now I act like I’m deaf, and do not listen [to what they say]. I act like I cannot talk, so I say nothing [to reply to them].

But, like someone deaf, I did not hear. And I was like someone mute, not opening his mouth.

14 I act like a man who does not answer [when people talk to him], because he cannot hear anything.

And I became like a man who does not hear, and who has no reproofs in his mouth.

15 But Yahweh, I trust in you. My Lord God, you will answer me.

For in you, Lord, I have hoped. You will listen to me, O Lord my God.

16 I said to you, “Do not cause [me to die, with the result that] my enemies will rejoice! Do not cause me to stumble, with the result that they will be very happy!”

For I said, “Lest at any time, my enemies might rejoice over me,” and, “While my feet are being shaken, they have spoken great things against me.”

17 I say that because I am about to fall down, and I constantly have pain.

For I have been prepared for scourges, and my sorrow is ever before me.

18 I confess the wrong things that I have done; I am [very] sorry for the sins that I have committed.

For I will announce my iniquity, and I will think about my sin.

19 My enemies are healthy and strong; there are many people who hate me for no reason.

But my enemies live, and they have been stronger than me. And those who have wrongfully hated me have been multiplied.

20 Those who do evil things to me in return for my doing good things to them oppose me because I try to do what is right.

Those who render evil for good have dragged me down, because I followed goodness.

21 Yahweh, do not abandon me! My God, do not stay far from me!

Do not forsake me, O Lord my God. Do not depart from me.

22 Lord, you are the one who saves/rescues me; Quickly [come and] help me!

Be attentive to my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation.