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Psalms Chapter 38

Other Translations

asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM

1 Thou hast made me the head of the nations:
2 A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
3 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me;
4 The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.
5 The foreigners shall fade away,
6 And shall come trembling out of their close places.
7 Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock;
8 And exalted be the God of my salvation,
9 Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,
10 And subdueth peoples under me.
11 He rescueth me from mine enemies;
12 Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me;
13 Thou deliverest me from the violent man.
14 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations,
15 And will sing praises unto thy name.
16 Great deliverance giveth he to his king,
17 And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed,
18 To David and to his seed, for evermore.
19 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
20 The heavens declare the glory of God;
21 And the firmament showeth his handiwork.
22 Day unto day uttereth speech,

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand cometh down upon me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; no peace in my bones, because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink, they are corrupt, because of my foolishness.
6 I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day.
7 For my loins are full of burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am faint and broken beyond measure; I roar by reason of the agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee.
10 My heart throbbeth, my strength hath left me; and the light of mine eyes, it also is no more with me.
11 My lovers and mine associates stand aloof from my stroke; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 And they that seek after my life lay snares [for me]; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf [man], hear not; and am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, Jehovah, do I hope: thou wilt answer, O Lord myGod.
16 For I said, Let them not rejoice over me! When my foot slipped, they magnified [themselves] against me.
17 For I am ready to halt, and my pain is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity, I am grieved for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied:
20 And they that render evil for good are adversaries unto me; because I pursue what is good.
21 Forsake me not, Jehovah; O myGod, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 For the end, a Song of David, to Idithun.
2 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I set a guard on my mouth, while the sinner stood in my presence.
3 I was dumb, and humbled myself, and kept silence from good [words]; and my grief was renewed.
4 My heart grew hot within me, and a fire would kindle in my meditation: I spoke with my tongue,
5 O Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days, what it is; that I may know what I lack.
6 Behold, thou hast made my days old; and my existence [is] as nothing before thee: nay, every man living [is] altogether vanity. Pause.
7 Surely man walks in a shadow; nay, he is disquieted in vain: he lays up treasures, and knows not for whom he shall gather them.
8 And now what [is] my expectation? [is it] not the Lord? and my ground [of hope] is with thee. Pause.
9 Deliver me from all my transgressions: thou hast made me a reproach to the foolish.
10 I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou art he that made me.
11 Remove thy scourges from me: I have fainted by reason of the strength of thine hand.
12 Thou chastenest man with rebukes for iniquity, and thou makest his life to consume away like a spider's web: nay, every man is disquieted in vain. Pause.
13 O Lord, hearken to my prayer and my supplication: attend to my tears: be not silent, for I am a sojourner in the land, and a stranger, as all my fathers [were].
14 Spare me, that I may be refreshed, before I depart, and be no more.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 In finem, ipsi Idithun, Canticum David.
2 Dixi: Custodiam vias meas: ut non delinquam in lingua mea. Posui ori meo custodiam, cum consisteret peccator adversum me.
3 Obmutui, et humiliatus sum, et silui a bonis: et dolor meus renovatus est.
4 Concaluit cor meum intra me: et in meditatione mea exardescet ignis.
5 Locutus sum in lingua mea: Notum fac mihi Domine finem meum. Et numerum dierum meorum quis est: ut sciam quid desit mihi.
6 Ecce mensurabiles posuisti dies meos: et substantia mea tamquam nihilum ante te. Verumtamen universa vanitas, omnis homo vivens.
7 Verumtamen in imagine pertransit homo: sed et frustra conturbatur. Thesaurizat: et ignorat cui congregabit ea.
8 Et nunc quæ est expectatio mea? nonne Dominus? et substantia mea apud te est.
9 Ab omnibus iniquitatibus meis erue me: opprobrium insipienti dedisti me.
10 Obmutui, et non aperui os meum, quoniam tu fecisti:
11 amove a me plagas tuas.
12 A fortitudine manus tuæ ego defeci in increpationibus: propter iniquitatem corripuisti hominem. Et tabescere fecisti sicut araneam animam eius: verumtamen vane conturbatur omnis homo.
13 Exaudi orationem meam Domine, et deprecationem meam: auribus percipe lacrimas meas. Ne sileas: quoniam advena ego sum apud te, et peregrinus, sicut omnes patres mei.
14 Remitte mihi, ut refrigerer priusquam abeam, et amplius non ero.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 A Psalm by David, for a memorial. LORD, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
2 For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness.
6 I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
7 For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.
11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.
12 They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For I hope in you, LORD. You will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”
17 For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
18 For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 They who give evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
21 Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me.
22 Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 A Psalm of David, `To cause to remember.' Jehovah, in Thy wrath reprove me not, Nor in Thy fury chastise me.
2 For Thine arrows have come down on me, And Thou lettest down upon me Thy hand.
3 Soundness is not in my flesh, Because of Thine indignation, Peace is not in my bones because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities have passed over my head, As a heavy burden--too heavy for me.
5 Stunk--become corrupt have my wounds, Because of my folly.
6 I have been bent down, I have been bowed down--unto excess, All the day I have gone mourning.
7 For my flanks have been full of drought, And soundness is not in my flesh.
8 I have been feeble and smitten--unto excess, I have roared from disquietude of heart.
9 Lord, before Thee <FI>is<Fi> all my desire, And my sighing from Thee hath not been hid.
10 My heart <FI>is<Fi> panting, my power hath forsaken me, And the light of mine eyes, Even they are not with me.
11 My lovers and my friends over-against my plague stand. And my neighbours afar off have stood.
12 And those seeking my soul lay a snare, And those seeking my evil Have spoken mischievous things, And they do deceits meditate all the day.
13 And I, as deaf, hear not. And as a dumb one who openeth not his mouth.
14 Yea, I am as a man who heareth not, And in his mouth are no reproofs.
15 Because for Thee, O Jehovah, I have waited, Thou dost answer, O Lord my God.
16 When I said, `Lest they rejoice over me, In the slipping of my foot against me they magnified themselves.
17 For I am ready to halt, And my pain <FI>is<Fi> before me continually.
18 For mine iniquity I declare, I am sorry for my sin.
19 And mine enemies <FI>are<Fi> lively, They have been strong, and those hating me without cause, Have been multiplied.
20 And those paying evil for good accuse me, Because of my pursuing good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Jehovah, My God, be not far from me,
22 Haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).