Psalm 38
A psalm written by David, asking God not to forget him
1 Yahweh, when you are angry with me,
do not rebuke me and punish me!
2 Now it is as though you have shot your arrows at me and wounded me;
it is as though you have struck me and knocked me down.
3 Because you have been angry with me,
I am suffering great pain.
Because of my sin,
my whole body is diseased.
4 All my sins are like a flood that covers my head;
they are like a load that is very heavy; I cannot carry them.
5 Because I have done foolish things,
I have sores that have become worse, and they stink.
6 Sometimes I am bent over, and sometimes I lie prostrate;
I mourn all day.
7 My body is burning with fever,
and I am very ill.
8 I am completely exhausted, and I have no strength.
I am very distressed in my inner being, and I groan with pain.
9 Yahweh, you know that I desire you to heal me;
you hear me while I am groaning.
10 My heart pounds heavily, and all my strength is gone.
I am no longer able to see well.
11 My friends and neighbors stay away from me because of my sores;
even my own family stays far from me.
12 Those who want to kill me set traps to catch me;
those who want to harm me discuss the ways that they can get rid of me;
they plot against me all day.
13 Now I act like a deaf man and do not listen to what they say.
I act like a man who cannot talk, and I say nothing to reply to them.
14 I act like a man who does not answer when people talk to him
because he cannot hear anything.
15 But Yahweh, I trust in you.
My Lord God, you will answer me.
16 I said to you, “Do not cause me to die so that my enemies will rejoice!
If troubles overwhelm me, my enemies will do very bad things to me!”
17 I say that because I am about to fall down,
and I constantly have pain.
18 I confess the wrong things that I have done;
I am very sorry for the sins that I have committed.
19 My enemies are healthy and strong;
there are many people who hate me for no reason.
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.
21 Yahweh, do not abandon me!
My God, do not stay far from me!
22 Lord, you are the one who saves me;
Quickly come and help me!