Psalm 38 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Lord, don’t criticize me in anger.\par Don’t discipline me in anger.\par

² Lord, you have hurt me.\par Your arrows went deep into me.\par

³ You punished me.\par Now my whole body is sore.\par I sinned, \{and you punished me\}.\par So all my bones hurt.\par

⁴ I am guilty of doing bad things.\par And that guilt is like a heavy weight.\par \{I am too ashamed\} to hold my head up.\par

⁵ I did a foolish thing.\par Now I have infected sores that stink.\par

⁶ I am bent and bowed down.\par I am depressed all day long.\par

⁷ I have a fever,\par and my whole body hurts.\par

⁸ I hurt so much I can’t feel anything.\par My pounding heart makes me scream!\par

⁹ My Master, you heard my groaning.\par My sighs are not hidden from you.\par

¹⁰ My heart is pounding.\par My strength is gone,\par and I am going blind {\cf2\super [230]} .\par

¹¹ Because of my sickness,\par my friends and neighbors\par will not visit me.\par My family will not come near me.\par

¹² My enemies say bad things about me.\par They are spreading lies and rumors. {\cf2\super [231]} \par They talk about me all the time.\par

¹³ But I am like a deaf person\par that cannot hear.\par I am like a mute person\par that cannot speak.\par

¹⁴ I am like a person that cannot hear\par what people are saying about him.\par I cannot argue and prove\par that my enemies are wrong.\par

¹⁵ So, Lord, you must defend me.\par God my Master, you must speak for me.\par

¹⁶ If I say anything,\par then my enemies will laugh at me.\par They will see I am sick\par and say that I am being punished\par for doing wrong.\par

¹⁷ I know I am guilty of doing wrong things.\par I cannot forget my pain.\par

¹⁸ Lord, I told you about the bad things I did.\par I am sad about my sins.\par

¹⁹ My enemies are alive and healthy.\par And they have told many, many lies.\par

²⁰ My enemies do bad things to me,\par and I did only good things to them.\par I tried to do only good things,\par but those people turned against me.\par

²¹ Lord, don’t leave me!\par My God, stay close to me!\par

²² Quickly come and help me!\par My God, save me!\par