Psalm 38 — There Is No Soundness in My Flesh
One of the most physically graphic laments in the Psalter — David describes his suffering in bodily terms throughout: wounds that are "loathsome and corrupt" (v. 5), a body "filled with burning" (v. 7), a throbbing heart and failing eyesight (v. 10). Unlike psalms where the cause of suffering is external enemies, this one names the source directly: "my iniquities have gone over my head" (v. 4) — physical collapse understood as consequence of sin, compounded by abandonment from friends (v. 11) and the added cruelty of enemies exploiting his weakness (vv. 12, 19-20).
- Verse 13's response to accusation — "I, as a deaf man, don't hear... as a mute man who doesn't open his mouth" — describes a deliberate choice not to defend himself, distinct from actually being unable to; this echoes the kind of silence later associated with the suffering servant of Isaiah 53:7.
- The psalm doesn't separate physical illness from moral guilt the way a modern reader might expect — verses 3-5 treat bodily collapse and confessed sin as directly connected, which is characteristic of ancient Near Eastern lament but isn't a claim the Bible makes uniformly (compare John 9:1-3, where Jesus explicitly rejects that link in one specific case).
- Verse 11's "my lovers and my friends stand aloof" names abandonment by the people closest to him as part of the suffering itself, not just background detail — isolation compounding physical pain.
Psalms 38 (WEB)
1Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
2For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.
3There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
4For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, because of my foolishness.
6I am pained and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
7For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
8I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
9Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.
10My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.
11My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.
12They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
13But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth.
14Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15For in you, Yahweh, do I hope. You will answer, Lord my God.
16For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”
17For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
18For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.
19But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
21Don’t forsake me, Yahweh. My God, don’t be far from me.
22Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.