Psalm 38-41
New American Standard Bible 1995
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for [n]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (AN)guard my ways
That I (AO)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (AP)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (AQ)mute [o]and silent,
I [p]refrained even from good,
And my [q]sorrow grew worse.
3 My (AR)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know (AS)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (AT)transient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made (AU)my days as handbreadths,
And my (AV)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man [r]at his best is [s]a mere (AW)breath. [t]Selah.
6 “Surely every man (AX)walks about as [u]a phantom;
Surely they 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)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (BC)reproach of the foolish.
9 “I 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 [v]perishing.
11 “With (BH)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (BI)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (BJ)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
12 “(BK)Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent (BL)at my tears;
For I am (BM)a stranger with You,
A (BN)sojourner like all my fathers.
13 “(BO)Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may [w]smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”
God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
40 I (BP)waited [x]patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and (BQ)heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the (BR)pit of destruction, out of the [y]miry clay,
And (BS)He set my feet upon a rock (BT)making my footsteps firm.
3 He 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.
4 How (BW)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And (BX)has not [z]turned to the proud, nor to those who (BY)lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are (BZ)the wonders which You have done,
And Your (CA)thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They (CB)would be too numerous to count.
6 [aa](CC)Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have [ab]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [ac]written of me.
8 (CD)I delight to do Your will, O my God;
(CE)Your Law is within my heart.”
9 I have (CF)proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will (CG)not restrain my lips,
O Lord, (CH)You know.
10 I have (CI)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have (CJ)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[ad]Your (CK)lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have (CL)surrounded me;
My (CM)iniquities 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 [ae]failed me.
13 (CP)Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make (CQ)haste, O Lord, to help me.
14 Let those be (CR)ashamed and humiliated together
Who (CS)seek my [af]life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [ag]in my hurt.
15 Let those (CT)be [ah]appalled because of their shame
Who (CU)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 (CV)Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation (CW)say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 Since (CX)I am afflicted and needy,
[ai](CY)Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
41 How blessed is he who (CZ)considers the [aj]helpless;
The Lord will deliver him (DA)in a day of [ak]trouble.
2 The Lord will (DB)protect him and keep him alive,
And he shall [al]be called (DC)blessed upon the earth;
And (DD)do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
3 The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You [am]restore him to health.
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
(DE)Heal my soul, for (DF)I have sinned against You.”
5 My enemies (DG)speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And [an]when he comes to see me, he (DH)speaks [ao]falsehood;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
7 All who hate me whisper together against me;
Against me they (DI)devise my hurt, saying,
8 “A wicked thing is poured out [ap]upon him,
That when he lies down, he will (DJ)not rise up again.”
9 Even my (DK)close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But You, O Lord, be gracious to me and (DL)raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that (DM)You are pleased with me,
Because (DN)my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, (DO)You uphold me in my integrity,
And You set me (DP)in Your presence forever.
13 (DQ)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Footnotes
- Psalm 38:5 Or stripes
- 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 38:15 Or wait for
- Psalm 38:17 Lit pain
- Psalm 38:18 Or declare
- Psalm 38:19 Or numerous
- Psalm 39:1 1 Chr 16:41
- Psalm 39:2 Lit with silence
- Psalm 39:2 Lit kept silence
- Psalm 39:2 Lit pain
- Psalm 39:5 Lit standing firm
- Psalm 39:5 Or altogether vanity
- Psalm 39:5 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 39:6 Lit an image
- Psalm 39:10 Or wasting away
- Psalm 39:13 Or become cheerful
- Psalm 40:1 Or intently
- Psalm 40:2 Lit mud of the mire
- Psalm 40:4 Lit regard
- Psalm 40:6 I.e. Blood sacrifice
- Psalm 40:6 Lit dug; or possibly pierced
- Psalm 40:7 Or prescribed for
- 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 40:17 Or The Lord is mindful
- Psalm 41:1 Or poor
- Psalm 41:1 Or evil
- Psalm 41:2 Or be blessed
- Psalm 41:3 Lit turn all his bed
- Psalm 41:6 Or if he
- Psalm 41:6 Or emptiness
- Psalm 41:8 Or within
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
