Read Psalm 38 at Bible Gateway.
This psalm is another one with difficult translations from the Hebrew. I used The Hebrew Bible in English and the Hebrew Lexicon at The Blue Letter Bible for help in clarifying the meaning from the Hebrew, which revealed the chiastic structure. This psalm actually forms a complex reverse parallelism, a chiastic structure without the central axis.
1a) Psa 38:1, O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
1b) Psa 38:2-7, You convict me in my heart because of my sin/ there is no soundness in my flesh because of my foolishness:
1a) Psa 38:2-3a, Your arrows pierce me deeply + Your hand presses me down/ no soundness in my flesh;
1b) Psa 38:3b, Nor any health in my bones because of my sin;
central axis) Psa 38:4, My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me;
2b) Psa 38:5, My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness;
2a) Psa 38:6-7, I am troubled + bowed down in mourning all the day long/ no soundness in my flesh;
2b) Psa 38:8-10, My heart is in turmoil + my strength fails me/ You see my true desires (to please You):
1a) Psa 38:8a, I am feeble and severely broken;
1b) Psa 38:8b, I groan because of the turmoil of my heart;
central axis) Psa 38:9, Lord, all my desire is before You + my sighing is not hidden from You;
2b) Psa 38:10a, My heart pants, my strength fails me;
2a) Psa 38:10b, As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me;
2a) Psa 38:11-22, For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear (my confession) and answer (my cry for help):
1a) Psa 38:11, My loved ones + friends stand aloof + afar off (have forsaken me);
1b) Psa 38:12, Those also who seek my life + my hurt lay snares + plan destruction + deception;
1c) Psa 38:13-14, I am like a deaf man, who does not hear/ in whose mouth are no arguments (I cannot justify my sin);
central axis) Psa 38:15-16, “For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear and answer, O Lord my God. For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me;’”
2c) Psa 38:17-18, I am ready to fall + in sorrow/I will declare my iniquity + in anguish over my sin;
2b) Psa 38:19-20, My enemies are vigorous/ hate me wrongfully + render evil for good + my adversaries wrongfully;
2a) Psa 38:21-22, Do not forsake me + be not far from me/ make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! {p}
Thank you, Christine. I was reading this and wondered if it was chiastic, but I couldn’t figure out where the middle would be b/c verse 11 (the middle in the English) does not feel like it should be the point of the Psalm. This was helpful. I am wondering, though: are you claiming that verse 15 is the central part of the Psalm? That’s how it reads in English, but I don’t want to assume that just because it stands out. I’m just learning about chiastic structure. Thanks again.
This psalm forms a reverse parallelism, not a chiastic structure. A reverse parallelism is similar to a chiastic structure but without the central axis. The form of the main parallelism is:
1A) Psa 38:1
1B) Psa 38:2-7
2B) Psa 38:8-10
2A) Psa 38:11-22
Three of these elements, 1B, 2B, and 2A, form smaller chiastic structures themselves – structures, not parallelisms, each with a central axis. Verse 15 and 16 is the central axis of the smaller 2A chiastic structure, but not the central axis to the whole psalm.