Psalms 38:5

Psalms 38:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
• New International Version (NIV)My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
• English Standard Version (ESV)My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,
• New King James Version (NKJV)My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness.

Context of Psalms 38:5

3Your punishment has made my whole body ill. My health has gone, because of my sin. 4My sin is too much for me! It is like a heavy weight, that I cannot carry. My wounds make a bad smell, and they get worse. This is because I have done stupid things. 6My body is bent down to the ground. Every day I weep because I am so sad. 7My body is hot with fever. I am very ill.

Psalms 38:5 word by word

הִבְאִ֣ישׁוּ נָ֭מַקּוּ חַבּוּרֹתָ֑י מִ֝פְּנֵ֗י אִוַּלְתִּֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• My woundsחַבּוּרָהchabbûrâh chabbûrâh chăbûrâh · woundH2250
• stinkבָּאַשׁbâ'ash · to stinkH887
• are corruptמָקַקmâqaq · to rotH4743
• becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• of my foolishnessאִוֶּ֫לֶת'ivveleth · follyH200

Cross-references for Psalms 38:5

• Psalms 32:3When I said nothing to God about my sin, my whole body became weak. I cried all the time because of the pain.
• Isaiah 1:5You continue to fight against God. Why do you do that? God will continue to punish you. You are weak and you hurt all over. Your mind and your body have great pain.
• Jeremiah 8:22Surely there is a medicine in Gilead. There is a doctor there who can make my dear people better. But my people are still ill. Why are they not better?

Commentaries on Psalms 38:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5My wounds stink and are corrupt - Taking this in connection with the rest of the Psalm, I do not see that we can understand the word in any figurative or metaphorical way. I believe they refer to some disease with which he was at this time afflicted; but whether the leprosy, the small pox, or some other disorder that had attacked the whole system, and showed its virulence on different parts of the outer surface, cannot be absolutely determined. Because of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5My wounds stink - The word rendered “wounds” here means properly the swelling or wales produced by stripes. See the notes at Isaiah 1:6; notes at Isaiah 53:5. The meaning here is, that he was under chastisement for his sin; that the stripes or blows on account of it had not only left a mark and produced a swelling, but that the skin itself had been broken, and that the flesh had become corrupt, and the sore offensive. Many expositors regard this as a mere…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-8The severity of God’s punishment brings anguish that affects every part of the psalmist’s being.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-85-8. The loathsomeness, corruption, and wasting torture of severe physical disease set forth his mental anguish [Psa 38:6]. It is possible some bodily disease was connected. The loins are the seat of strength. His exhaustion left him only the power to groan [Psa 38:9].Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 38:5

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Conviction
• Prayer
• Remorse

In the dictionaries

• Afar
• Arrow
• Deceit
• Fret
• Plague
• Bring
• Fool; Folly
• Pentateuch
• Psalms, Book of
• Sick; Sickness

Commentaries on Psalms 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• The Treasury of David
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings