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Psalm 38
New King James Version

### Prayer in Time of Chastening

#### A Psalm of David. (A)To bring to remembrance.

38 O Lord, do not (B)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.

3 There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.

6 I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

11 My loved ones and my friends (C)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

15 For [b]in You, O Lord, (D)I hope;
You will [c]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

17 (E)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will (F)declare my iniquity;
I will be (G)in [d]anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also (H)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (I)be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

#### Footnotes

1. Psalm 38:6 Lit. bent down
2. Psalm 38:15 I wait for You, O Lord
3. Psalm 38:15 answer
4. Psalm 38:18 anxiety

#### Cross references

1. Psalm 38:1 : Ps. 70:title
2. Psalm 38:1 : Ps. 6:1
3. Psalm 38:11 : Ps. 31:11; 88:18
4. Psalm 38:15 : [Ps. 39:7]
5. Psalm 38:17 : Ps. 51:3
6. Psalm 38:18 : Ps. 32:5
7. Psalm 38:18 : [2 Cor. 7:9, 10]
8. Psalm 38:20 : Ps. 35:12
9. Psalm 38:21 : Ps. 22:19; 35:22

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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