Text -- Psalms 38:9-22 (NET)

38:9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; my groaning is not hidden from you. 38:10 My heart beats quickly; my strength leaves me; I can hardly see. 38:11 Because of my condition, even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; my neighbors stand far away. 38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; those who want to harm me speak destructive words; all day long they say deceitful things. 38:13 But I am like a deaf man– I hear nothing; I am like a mute who cannot speak. 38:14 I am like a man who cannot hear and is incapable of arguing his defense. 38:15 Yet I wait for you, O Lord! You will respond, O Lord, my God! 38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. 38:17 For I am about to stumble, and I am in constant pain. 38:18 Yes, I confess my wrongdoing, and I am concerned about my sins. 38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; those who hate me without cause outnumber me. 38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done; though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. 38:21 Do not abandon me, O Lord! My God, do not remain far away from me! 38:22 Hurry and help me, O Lord, my deliverer!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 38:9

¹ tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:10

¹ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

NET Notes: Psa 38:11

¹ tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”

² tn Heb “stand [aloof].”

³ tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:12

¹ tn Heb “lay snares.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:13

¹ sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).

NET Notes: Psa 38:14

¹ tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:15

¹ tn Or perhaps “surely.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:16

¹ tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).

² tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.

NET Notes: Psa 38:17

¹ tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:18

¹ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.

NET Notes: Psa 38:19

¹ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

² tn Heb “are many.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:20

¹ tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”

NET Notes: Psa 38:22

¹ tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.