Psalms 38 · Verse 1

Psalms 38:1

A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

Psalms 38:1, King James Version

Psalms 38:1 in other translations

BSB	A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
WEB	A Psalm by David, for a memorial. LORD, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.
ASV	A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
YLT	A Psalm of David, ‘To cause to remember.' Jehovah, in Thy wrath reprove me not, Nor in Thy fury chastise me.
DARBY	A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
BBE	O Lord, be not bitter with me in your wrath; let not your hand be on me in the heat of your passion.
Webster	A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

What does Psalms 38:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 38:1-4

Psa 38:1-22. To bring to remembrance, or, remind God of His mercy and himself of his sin. Appealing to God for relief from His heavy chastisement, the Psalmist avows his integrity before men, complains of the defection of friends and persecution of enemies, and in a submissive spirit, casting himself on God, with penitent confession he pleads God's covenant relation and his innocence of the charges of his enemies, and prays for divine comfort and help.

1-4. He deprecates deserved punishment, which is described (Psa 6:1), under the figure of bodily disease [Psa 38:3].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

David prays God to have mercy upon him, and gives a most affecting account of his miserable state, Psa 38:1-10; complains of his being forsaken by his friends, and cruelly persecuted by his enemies, Psa 38:11-16; confesses his sin; and earnestly implores help, Psa 38:17-22. The title in the Hebrew states this to be A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. The Chaldee; "A Psalm of David for a good memorial to Israel." The Vulgate, Septuagint, and Aethiopic: "A Psalm of David, for a commemoration concerning the Sabbath." The Arabic: "A Psalm in which mention is made of the Sabbath; besides, it is a thanksgiving and a prophecy." Never was a title more misplaced or less expressive of the contents. There is no mention of the Sabbath in it; there is no thanksgiving in it, for it is deeply penitential; and I do not see that it contains any prophecy. The Syriac: "A psalm of David, when they said to the Philistine king, Achish, This is David, who killed Goliath; we will not have him to go with us against Saul. Besides, it is a form of confession for us." It does not appear that, out of all the titles, we can gather the true intent of the Psalm. Several conjectures have been made relative to the occasion on which this Psalm was composed; and the most likely is, that it was in reference to some severe affliction which David had after his illicit commerce with Bath-sheba; but of what nature we are left to conjecture from the third, fifth, and seventh verses. Whatever it was, he deeply repents for it, asks pardon, and earnestly entreats support from God. Verse 1 O Lord, rebuke me not - He was sensible that he was suffering under the displeasure of God; and he prays that the chastisement may be in mercy, and not in judgment.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 38:1-11

Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger. The way to keep the heart quiet, is to keep ourselves in the love of God. But a sense of guilt is too heavy to bear; and would sink men into despair and ruin, unless removed by the pardoning mercy of God. If there were not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no illness in our bodies. The guilt of sin is a burden to the whole creation, which groans under it. It will be a burden to the sinners themselves, when they are heavy-laden under it, or a burden of ruin, when it sinks them to hell. When we perceive our true condition, the Good Physician will be valued, sought, and obeyed. Yet many let their wounds rankle, because they delay to go to their merciful Friend. When, at any time, we are distempered in our bodies, we ought to remember how God has been dishonoured in and by our bodies. The groanings which cannot be uttered, are not hid from Him that searches the heart, and knows the mind of the Spirit. David, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his agonies, of Christ on his cross, suffering and deserted.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Psalms 38:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יְֽהוָ֗הYah.wehO YahwehH3068

אַל\־'al-may notH408

בְּקֶצְפְּךָ֥be.ketz.pe.Chain anger yourH7110

תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִיto.khi.Che.niyou rebuke meH3198

וּֽבַחֲמָתְךָ֥u.va.cha.ma.te.Khaand in wrath yourH2534

תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי\׃te.ya.se.Re.nimay you chasten meH3256

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 38:1

Isaiah 54:8
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
Hebrews 12:5-11
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. …
Psalms 6:1
To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Psalms 70:1
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.
Jeremiah 30:11
For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
Jeremiah 10:24
O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Isaiah 27:8
In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
Habakkuk 3:2
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
Psalms 88:15-16
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
Psalms 88:7
Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Deuteronomy 9:19
For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1 David moves God to take compassion on his pitiful case.

(Title.)This deeply penitential Psalm is supposed to have been composed by David under some grievous affliction, either bodily or mental, or both, after his illicit intercourse with Bathsheba.
to bring.
70:1; *title
rebuke.
6:1; 88:7,15,16; Isa 27:8; 54:8; Jer 10:24; 30:11; Hab 3:2
Heb 12:5-11
hot.
De 9:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Psalms 38:1
A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Psalms 38:2
For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

Read all of Psalms 38

Psalms 38:1 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Salmo de David, para recordar. JEHOVÁ, no me reprendas en tu furor, ni me castigues en tu ira.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Psaume de David, pour faire souvenir.
German Elberfelder 1871	Jehova, strafe mich nicht in deinem Zorn, noch züchtige mich in deinem Grimm!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	In finem, ipsi Idithun. Canticum David.