Yes, I am like a person who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no arguments. For I wait for You, Lord; You will answer, Lord my God. Psalm 38:14-15 NASB No arguments – Maybe the psalmist read Job. Maybe we should before we try to understand this poem. The word he uses is tôkaḥot, “reproofs, arguments.” …
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my kinsmen stand far away. Psalm 38:11 NASB Plague – Perhaps the modern world is finally uncomfortably familiar with this word, negaʿ. Translated “plague,” we discover that the root (nāgaʿ) is about touching. The noun, which we have in this verse, isn’t always about…
we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 NASB 1995 Absent – “The fantasy of escape from the struggle of existence must be deeply addressed if one is to find the vital center of one’s being.”[1] “I just…
Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me. Psalm 38:9-10 NASB My desire – Edward Mote (1797 to 1874) wrote the famous hymn, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and…
My walk in Parco della Cittadella.
I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go in mourning all day long. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no healthy part in my flesh. I feel faint and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart. Psalm 38:6-8 NASB No healthy part – Despite the fact that the idea is theologically untenable, the…
“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.” Job 14:1 NASB Man – I still have places to go. Katmandu, Nepal Paro Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan Skógafoss, Iceland Anse Lazio Beach, Seychelles Ashikaga Flower Park, Japan Cao Bang Ban Gioc Waterfall, Vietnam Caño Cristales, Columbia Raja Ampat, Indonesia Dongchuan, China Marble Caves, Chico, Chile…
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden . . . Genesis 3:8a Robert Alter Walking – Sometimes our English translations cripple Hebrew intention. Verses become pedestrian instead of surprising. We read them as if they had nothing more to say than our simple-minded interpretation. We reduce the biblical…
My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness. Psalm 38:5 NASB Wounds/ foolishness – Umbrellas. That’s how you must think when it comes to Hebrew vocabulary. Big umbrellas. Lots of space underneath. Lots of places for words to shift and change and rearrange. And all that moving around means we might find something important in the…
For my guilty deeds have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. Psalm 38:4 NASB Heavy burden – Let’s start here CLICK. In my last year at the University of Washington, before an exam I would go to the sound studio and play Abbey Road—loud! I wouldn’t think about…
