Psalms 38:3-5

38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; ¹ 

I am deprived of health because of my sin. ² 

38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; ³ 

like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

38:5 My wounds ⁴  are infected and starting to smell, ⁵ 

because of my foolish sins. ⁶ 

[38:3]  ¹ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.

[38:3]  ² tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”

[38:4]  ³ tn Heb “pass over my head.”

[38:5]  ⁴ sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.

[38:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”