Psalms 38 · Verse 2

Psalms 38:2

For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.
Psalms 38:2, King James Version

Psalms 38:2 in other translations

BSBFor Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
WEBFor your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.
ASVFor thine arrows stick fast in me, And thy hand presseth me sore.
YLTFor Thine arrows have come down on me, And Thou lettest down upon me Thy hand.
DARBYFor thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand cometh down upon me.
BBEFor your arrows have gone into my flesh, and I am crushed under the weight of your hand.
WebsterFor thy arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand falleth heavy upon me.

What does Psalms 38:2 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…

Read the full comment on Psalms 38:1-4 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Thine arrows stick fast in me - This no doubt, refers to the acute pains which he endured; each appearing to his feeling as if an arrow were shot into his body.

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…

Read the full comment on Psalms 38:1-11 →

Psalms 38:2 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.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
חִ֭צֶּיךָChi.tzei.khaarrows yourH2671
נִ֣חֲתוּNi.cha.tuthey have penetratedH5181
בִ֑יVi<in> me
וַתִּנְחַ֖תva.tin.Chatand it has come downH5181
עָלַ֣י'a.Laion meH5921
יָדֶֽךָ\׃ya.De.khahand yourH3027

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

Cross references for Psalms 38:2

  • Job 6:4

    For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

  • Psalms 32:4

    For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

  • 1 Samuel 5:6

    But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.

  • Deuteronomy 2:15

    For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

  • Lamentations 3:12

    He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

  • Psalms 39:10-11

    Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.

  • 1 Samuel 6:9

    And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth–shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

  • Psalms 21:12

    Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

  • 1 Samuel 5:11

    So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

  • Ruth 1:13

    Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.

  • Psalms 64:7

    But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
thine.
21:12; 64:7; Job 6:4; La 3:12
thy hand.
32:4; 39:10,11; De 2:15; Ru 1:13; 1Sa 5:6,11; 6:9

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.

  • Psalms 38:3

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

Read all of Psalms 38

Psalms 38:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque tus saetas descendieron á mí, y sobre mí ha caído tu mano.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Éternel! ne me reprends pas dans ta colère, et ne me châtie pas dans ta fureur.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn deine Pfeile sind in mich eingedrungen, und deine Hand hat sich auf mich herabgesenkt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixi: Custodiam vias meas: ut non delinquam in lingua mea. Posui ori meo custodiam, cum consisteret peccator adversum me.