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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Bible · 516 of 1189

Psalms 38

1.O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

2.For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

3.There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

4.For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

5.My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

6.I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

7.For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8.I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

9.Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

10.My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

11.My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12.They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

13.But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

14.Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.

15.For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

16.For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.

17.For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.

18.For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

19.But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

20.They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

21.Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.

22.Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Asked of Guide

Why does the psalmist plead for God's nearness amid suffering and enemies?

The psalmist paints suffering as both physical and moral: wounds, “no soundness in my flesh,” dashed relationships, and enemies who “render evil for good.” This catalog shows why presence matters—the appeal “For in thee, O LORD, do I hope” ties survival to God’s attentive aid rather than to human support.

The prayer moves from confession (“I will declare mine iniquity”) to urgent petition (“Forsake me not…Make haste to help me”), so proximity equals rescue and restoration. This mirrors Davidic lament patterns elsewhere in Psalms, where honest guilt plus clinging hope summons divine intervention rather than merely explaining misfortune.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.