For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
Parallel Translations
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For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
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For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
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(38-18) For I am ready to halt, and my pain is continually before me.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Psalms 38:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 6:6 I am weary with my groaning. Every night I flood my bed. I drench my couch with my tears.
- Psalms 35:15 But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
- Psalms 38:6 I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
- Psalms 77:2-3 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul refused to be comforted. I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed.
- Isaiah 53:3-5 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him. Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
- Micah 4:6-7 “In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will assemble that which is lame, and I will gather that which is driven away, and that which I have afflicted; and I will make that which was lame a remnant, and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 17 Surely I am ready to halt This verse…
17 Surely I am ready to halt This verse has led expositors to suppose that David was afflicted with some sore, from which he was afraid of having brought upon him the infirmity of halting all his days; but I have already shown, in Psalm 35:15, that this supposition is very improbable. We have certainly no greater reason for supposing that David was lame than that Jeremiah was so, when he said,
“All my familiars watched for my halting.” — (Jeremiah 20:10,)
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I therefore think that David here employs a metaphorical mode of expression, and that his meaning is, that if God did not soon come to his aid, there was no hope of his ever being restored to his former condition; and that he was so greatly afflicted, that he would walk as if he had been maimed or lame all the days of his life. It next follows by way of exposition, that his sorrow was continually before him. The sense is, that he was so grievously afflicted, that he could not forget it for a single moment, so as to obtain some relaxation. In both the clauses of the verse, David confesses that his disease is incurable, unless he obtain some remedy from God, and that he cannot endure it, unless he be raised up and sustained by the hand of God himself. This is the reason why he directs all his thoughts and his requests to God alone; for as soon as he shall turn aside from him, he sees nothing but immediate ruin.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain I am without hope to recover my strength.
I am without hope to recover my strength.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 38:17 For I [am] ready to halt, and…
Psa 38:17 For I [am] ready to halt, and my sorrow [is] continually before me.
Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt] i.e. To misbehave mysetf and so to mar a good cause by ill-managing it, and then what will become of thy great name? This is a very forcible motive to prevail with a jealous and just God.
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And my sorrow is continually before me] That is, my sin, as Ecc 11:10 : or, my sorrow, but much more my sin the cause of it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Ready to halt; just falling into utter destruction; see…
Ready to halt; just falling into utter destruction; see Jer 20:10; and therefore if thou dost not help me speedily, it will be too late.
My sorrow is continually before me; I am deeply and constantly sensible of thy just hand, and of my sins, the cause of it; wherewith I shall be overwhelmed, if thou dost not prevent it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For I will declare mine iniquity,.... Either to men,…
For I will declare mine iniquity,.... Either to men, to ease his mind, justify God in his proceedings with him, and for their caution and admonition: or rather to God, against whom he had sinned, and who only could pardon him; with a view to which he was determined to make a free and open confession of it before him:
I will be sorry for my sin, or "careful" (p) about it; that is, how he committed it for the future: true repentance for sin produces a carefulness to abstain from all appearance of it; see Co2 7:10.
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(p) "solicitus ero", Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis, Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To halt - just falling into destruction. Before me…
To halt - just falling into destruction. Before me - I am constantly sensible of thy just hand, and of my sins the cause of it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. For I am ready to halt] Literally,…
Verse 17. For I am ready to halt] Literally, I am prepared to halt. So completely infirm is my soul, that it is impossible for me to take one right step in the way of righteousness, unless strengthened by thee.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 38:17-18. For I am ready to halt —…
Psa 38:17-18. For I am ready to halt — To fall into destruction, Jer 20:10. And, therefore, if thou dost not help me speedily it will be too late. My sorrow is continually before me — I am deeply and constantly sensible of thy justice in my chastisement, and I shall be overwhelmed with sorrow if thou dost not prevent it. For I will declare mine iniquity — I will confess it to thee as the cause of my sufferings. I will be sorry for my sin — Hebrew, אדאג, edag, I will be, or am solicitous, or anxious; full of grief for what is past, and of cares and fears for the future; therefore pity, pardon, and save me.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For I am ready to halt - Margin, as…
For I am ready to halt - Margin, as in Hebrew, “for halting.” The word from which the word used here is derived means properly to lean on one side, and then to halt or limp. The meaning here is, that he was like one who was limping along, and who was ready to fall; that is, in the case here referred to, he felt that his strength was almost gone, and that he was in continual danger of falling into sin, or sinking under his accumulated burdens, and of thus giving occasion for all that his enemies said of him, or occasion for their triumphing over him. Men often have this feeling - that their sorrows are so great that they cannot hope to hold out much longer, and that if God does not interpose they must fall.
And my sorrow is continually before me - That is, my grief or suffering is unintermitted. Probably the reference here is particularly to that which “caused” his grief, or which was the source of his trouble - his sin. The fact that he was a sinner was never absent from his mind; that was the source of all his trouble; that was what so pressed upon him that it was likely to crush him to the dust.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. I am ready to halt—The idea is, literally,…
17. I am ready to halt—The idea is, literally, My fall is certain; that is, humanly speaking, nothing is left for me but inevitable ruin, or help from God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. For &c.] A further argument for a speedy…
17. For &c.] A further argument for a speedy hearing. For the metaphor cp. Psa_35:15.
my sorrow &c.] I.e. my suffering is unceasingly present with me. Cp. Psa_51:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For I am ready to halt. I am weak…
For I am ready to halt. I am weak and helpless, liable at any moment to stumble and fall. And my sorrow is continually before me; i.e. my sin, which I sorrow over, which lies at the root of all my distress. (comp. Psa_51:3)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt. Like…
Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt. Like one who limps, or a person with tottering footsteps, in danger of falling. How well this befits us all. "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." How small a thing will lame a Christian, how insignificant a stumbling block may cause him to fall! This passage refers to a weakness caused by pain and sorrow; the sufferer was ready to give up in despair; he was so depressed in spirit that he stumbled at a straw. Some of us painfully know what it is to be like dry tinder for the sparks of sorrow; ready to halt, ready to mourn, and sigh and cry upon any occasion, and for any cause. And my sorrow is continually before me. He did not need to look out of window to find sorrow, he felt it within, and groaned under a body of sin which was an increasing plague to him. Deep conviction continues to irritate the conscience; it will not endure a patched up peace; but cries war to the knife till the enmity is slain. Until the Holy Ghost applies the precious blood of Jesus, a truly awakened sinner is covered with raw wounds which cannot be healed nor bound up, nor mollified with ointment.
Ver. 17. For I am ready to halt: to show my infirmity in my trials and afflictions; as Jacob halted after his wrestling with God. Ge 32:31. In the Greek, I am ready for scourges, that is, to suffer correction and punishment for my sins: so the Chaldee saith, for calamity. Henry Ainsworth.
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Ver. 17. Mr. Ready to halt. His pedigree, and infirmity; his crutches, and his cure; his history, and safe departure.
Psalms 38:18*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For I am ready to halt.
Psa_38:17
For I am ready to halt.
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Resolution almost exhausted
We reach the I will by I must and I ought. Now, this struggle with self-will is like a man with narrow chest and feeble lungs walking in the teeth of a biting north-east wind; it is like a bare-footed girl treading a road made with rough stones and sharp flints; it is like a feeble man climbing a mountain by a rocky path beneath a noon-day sun; and under the exhaustion of resolution and courage and patience there be many that say, I am ready to halt. (Samuel Martin.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I am about to stumble
I am about to stumble
Possible meanings for this metaphor are 1) "I am so sick that I am about to die" or 2) "I will soon be ruined." It may be best not to interpret the metaphor in the text. (See: Metaphor)
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I am in constant pain
"I am always in pain"
translationWords
stumble
confess
guilt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 38:17-20 No longer able to endure his suffering and…
38:17-20 No longer able to endure his suffering and teetering on the verge of collapse (cp. 15:5), the psalmist confesses his sin (see 32:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.