Psalms 38:10-12

Context

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see.¹

38:11 Because of my condition,² even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;³

my neighbors stand far away.⁴

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;⁵

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

[38:10] ¹tn 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).

[38:11] ²tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”

[38:11] ³tn Heb “stand [aloof].”

[38:11] ⁴tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”

[38:12] ³tn Heb “lay snares.”