Psalms 38
38
A Groan before the Throne
A poetic lament to remember, by King David # 38 The Septuagint has in the inscription “To be remembered on the Sabbath.”
1O Lord, don’t punish me angrily for what I’ve done.
Don’t let my sin inflame your wrath against me.
2For the arrows of your conviction have pierced me deeply.
Your blows have struck my soul and crushed me.
3Now my body is sick.
My health is totally broken because of your anger,
and it’s all due to my sins!
4I’m overwhelmed, swamped, and submerged
beneath the heavy burden of my guilt.
It clings to me and won’t let me go.
5My rotting wounds are a witness against me.
They are severe and getting worse,
reminding me of my failure and folly.
6I am completely broken because of what I’ve done.
Gloom is all around me.
My sins have bent me over to the ground.
7-8My inner being is shriveled up;
my self-confidence crushed.
Sick with fever, I’m left exhausted.
Now I’m as cold as a corpse, and nothing is left inside me
but great groaning filled with anguish.
9Lord, you know all my desires and deepest longings.
My tears are liquid words, and you can read them all.
10-11My heart beats wildly, my strength is sapped,
and the light of my eyes is going out.
My friends stay far away from me, avoiding me like the plague.
Even my family wants nothing to do with me.
12Meanwhile my enemies are out to kill me,
plotting my ruin, speaking of my doom
as they spend every waking moment
planning how to finish me off.
13-14I’m like a deaf man who no longer hears.
I can’t even speak up, and words fail me;
I have no argument to counter their threats.
15Lord, the only thing I can do is wait and put my hope in you.
I wait for your help, my God.
16So hear my cry and put an end to their strutting in pride,
to those who gloat when I stumble in pain.
17I’m slipping away and on the verge of a breakdown,
with nothing but sorrow and sighing. # 38:17 The Septuagint reads “I am prepared for all of their whips—prepared to suffer.”
18I confess all my sin to you; I can’t hold it in any longer.
My agonizing thoughts punish me for my wrongdoing;
I feel condemned as I consider all I’ve done.
19My enemies are many.
They hate me and persecute me,
though I’ve done nothing against them to deserve it.
20I show goodness to them and get paid evil in return.
And they hate me even more when I stand for what is right.
21So don’t forsake me now, Lord!
Don’t leave me in this condition.
22God, hurry to help me. Run to my rescue!
For you’re my Savior and my only hope!
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Psalms 38: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationPsalms 38
38
1-2Take a deep breath, God; calm down—
don’t be so hasty with your punishing rod.
Your sharp-pointed arrows of rebuke draw blood;
my backside stings from your discipline.
3-4I’ve lost twenty pounds in two months
because of your accusation.
My bones are brittle as dry sticks
because of my sin.
I’m swamped by my bad behavior,
collapsed under an avalanche of guilt.
5-8The cuts in my flesh stink and grow maggots
because I’ve lived so badly.
And now I’m flat on my face
feeling sorry for myself morning to night.
All my insides are on fire,
my body is a wreck.
I’m on my last legs; I’ve had it—
my life is a vomit of groans.
9-16Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight,
my groans an old story to you.
My heart’s about to break;
I’m a burned-out case.
Cataracts blind me to God and good;
old friends avoid me like the plague.
My cousins never visit,
my neighbors stab me in the back.
My competitors blacken my name,
devoutly they pray for my ruin.
But I’m deaf and mute to it all,
ears shut, mouth shut.
I don’t hear a word they say,
don’t speak a word in response.
What I do, God, is wait for you,
wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer!
I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off,
won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.
17-20I’m on the edge of losing it—
the pain in my gut keeps burning.
I’m ready to tell my story of failure,
I’m no longer smug in my sin.
My enemies are alive and in action,
a lynch mob after my neck.
I give out good and get back evil
from God-haters who can’t stand a God-lover.
21-22Don’t dump me, God;
my God, don’t stand me up.
Hurry and help me;
I want some wide-open space in my life!
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.