Psalm 38-39

New International Version (NIV)


Psalm 38

A psalm of David. A petition.



1
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

2
Your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down on me.

3
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

4
My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.



5
My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly.

6
I am bowed down and brought very low;
all day long I go about mourning.

7
My back is filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.

8
I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart.



9
All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.

10
My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.

11
My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbors stay far away.

12
Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.



13
I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;

14
I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.

15
Lord, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.

16
For I said, “Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”



17
For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.

18
I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.

19
Many have become my enemies without cause ;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.

20
Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.



21
Lord, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.

22
Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Savior.

Psalm 39

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.



1
I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”

2
So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;

3
my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:



4
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.

5
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.



6
“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.



7
“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.

8
Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.

9
I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.

10
Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11
When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth—
surely everyone is but a breath.



12
“Hear my prayer, Lord,
listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

13
Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
before I depart and am no more.”