I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.
Parallel translations
- KJV I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
- BSB I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
- NKJV I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
- NASB I feel faint and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart.
- NLT I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David is faint and crushed, groaning out of the anguish of his heart. His inner turmoil breaks out in audible groans.
Overview
David confesses himself utterly spent and 'severely bruised,' his deep heart-anguish overflowing in groans. His suffering is not merely physical but a tumult of soul under the burden of sin. Such groaning prayer is heard by God, who in the gospel meets our wordless groanings with the Spirit's intercession (Romans 8:26) and the comfort of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Job 3:24For my sighing comes before I eat. My groanings are poured out like water.
- Ps 32:3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
- Job 30:28I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
- Isa 59:11We all roar like bears, and moan bitterly like doves. We look for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.
- Ps 22:1–2For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 38:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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