Psalm 38:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.

NIV: My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.

NASB: My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand far away.

CSB: My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction, and my relatives stand at a distance.

NLT: My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.

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

NKJV: My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off.

Friends and relatives may distance themselves from the person who is ill and desperately needs comfort. Ironically, this seems more likely to happen when the person's suffering is spiritual or mental, as opposed to something like a sickness or injury. The context of this statement is David's suffering under conviction of his sin (Psalm 38:1–4, 8, 18). Either because of his drastic change in mood, or specifically because they despised his sin, David felt as if his friends and relatives were abandoning him.

The word "plague" may suggest leprosy. This is one of the physical afflictions people actively avoid interacting with, for fear of contamination. David's friends and relatives treated him as though he were a leper. In David's culture, persons thought to have highly contagious diseases were excluded from society (Leviticus 13:45). So, David experienced social pain, loneliness, and rejection.

The New Testament portrays Jesus as extending acceptance, love, and healing to lepers and other social outcasts. He healed lepers (Luke 17:11–19), restored a blind beggar's sight (Luke 18:35–43), befriended a despised tax collector (Luke 19:1–10), and forgave an adulterous woman (John 8:2–11). He invited everyone without exception to come to Him (Matthew 11:28) and promised, "Whoever comes to me I will never cast out" (John 6:37). Even in David's despair, he does not give up hope, but calls out to God in faith (Psalm 38:22).

Psalm 38:9–14 shows David's sincere humility. He addresses God as "Adonai," meaning "Lord" or "Master." He acknowledges that God knows all about his suffering, then continues to explain his misery. Guilt and conviction have caused him personal anguish. His sin created isolation from friends and relatives. It has given room for his enemies to attack him. In the face of this pressure, David feels entirely helpless.

David cries out to God in repentance for his sin. He feels the weight of shame and conviction, as if being pierced by arrows, ravaged by disease, crushed, and blinded. His friends have abandoned him; his enemies plot his demise. All of these have been brought about because of his "iniquity." Throughout this misery, David does not abandon hope. Instead, he confidently calls on the Lord to forgive and rescue him.

Psalm 38 and Psalm 32 are similar. They both express David's deep sense of guilt, his contrition, and his confession. Both psalms refer to the ill effect David's sins exerted on his physical condition. Psalm 38's descriptions seem mostly symbolic, but his anguish is very literal. Likely, the sins in question were adultery with Bathsheba and the arranged murder of her husband (2 Samuel 12:7–9). If so, these themes connect directly to Psalm 51. David asks God to forgive him and heal him.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.