Psalms 38:14
in Psalms 38I am like a man who cannot hear, whose mouth offers no reply.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, And in whose mouth are no reproofs.
KJV
Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
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This verse in Psalms 38
Commentary
13 notes on this verseYou should walk as one that is deaf and dumb and blind, so that, putting aside the contemplation of him who has been rightly chosen by you as your model of perfection, you should be like one who is blind and not see any of those things that you find to be unedifying. Nor should you be influenced by the authority or fashion of those who do these things and give yourself up to what is worse and what you formerly condemned.
This site's exposition
seek my life lay snares
on Psalms 38:12-14
Snares are laid, and destruction and deceit run all day long. He answers like a deaf man and a mute man, with no reply in his mouth. Henry reads the silence as a man keeping close to God by prayer and silencing his own resentment.
This site's exposition
whose mouth offers no reply
Adam Clarke notes that the word behind reply belongs to the law court, the argument a man makes in his own defense. He stands like the accused in open court, silent. Augustine heard Christ in it, who had rebuked the Pharisees often yet kept silent in His Passion.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"And I became as a man that hears not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs" [Psalm 38:14]. As if He had nothing to say unto them, as if He had nothing wherewith to reproach them. Had He not already reproached them for many things? Had He not said many things, and also said, "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees," [Matthew 23:13] and many things besides? Yet when He suffered, He said none of these things; not that He had not what to say, but He waited for them to fulfil all things, and that all the prophecies might be fulfilled of Him, of whom it had been said, "And as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so opens He not His mouth." [Isaiah 53:7] It behooved Him to be silent in His Passion, though not hereafter to be silent in Judgment. For He had come to be judged, then, who was hereafter coming to judge; and who was for this reason to come with great power to judge, that He had been judged in great humility.
History teaches this more clearly. Even when Absalom mounted a case against his father and drew to his side those who had lost cases in judgment, blessed David was long-suffering. When Shimei berated him with voice and hand upraised, he took the abuse in silence; …
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanCommentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms · Written before 397.
proposed
My friends and neighbors have approached me and stood against me. And my neighbors stood from afar. And those who sought my soul were causing violence. And those who intended harm to me spoke emptiness and deceit all day long. But I, like a deaf man, did not hear, and like a mute man who does not open his mouth. And I became like a man who does not hear and who does not have reproaches in his mouth. I see those who cleverly argue these things.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And I became like a man not hearing." Here is set forth the effect of patience; but this is against the opinion of the wicked, who attribute this to cowardice, not to virtue. And he says, "I became," namely in their opinion, "like a man …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Herein David was a type of Christ, who was as a sheep dumb before the shearer, and, when he was reviled, reviled not again; and both are examples to us not to render railing for railing. He kept close to his God by faith and prayer, and so both supported himself under these injuries and silenced his own resentments of them.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus I was as a man that heareth not,.... Any thing that is said unto him; he took no more notice of it than if he had never heard it; but bore all the railings and calumnies of men with calmness and patience; and in whose mouth are no reproofs; as if he had nothing to say for himself, in vindication of his character, and to the refutation of his enemies; as if he had no arguments to make use of, for the conviction and reproof of his adversaries.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. He repeats the fact of his silence that we may note it, admire it, and imitate it. We have an advocate, and need not therefore plead our own cause. The Lord will rebuke our foes, for vengeance belongs to him; we may therefore wait patiently and find it our strength to sit still.
Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. He repeats the fact of his silence that we may note it, admire it, and imitate it. We have an advocate, and need not therefore plead our own cause. The Lord will rebuke our foes, for vengeance belongs to him; we may therefore wait patiently and find it our strength to sit still.
No reproofs - תוכחות tochachoth, arguments or vindications; a forensic term. I was as a man accused in open court, and I could make no defense.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thus I was as a man that heareth not - The sentiment in the former verse is repeated here to show the greatness of his patience and forbearance, or to fix the attention on the fact that one who was so calumniated and wronged could bear it patiently. And in whose mouth are no reproofs - As a man who never reproved another; who, whatever might be the wrong which he endured, never replied to it; as he would be who was incapable of reproof, or who had no faculty for reproving. The whole of this is designed to show his entire patience under the wrongs which he suffered.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
But I am as a deaf person Israel hears their reproach from the nations but does not respond. Why? Because I hoped for You, O Lord, that You would redeem me and save me from them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And those who seek my life lay traps They seek traps for me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֱהִ֗י | vaehi | and I have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּ֭אִישׁ | keish | like a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֑עַ | shomea' | [is] hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בְּ֝פִ֗יו | befiv | in mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| תּוֹכָחֽוֹת׃ | tokhachot | [are] arguments | H8433 → | 28 times |
וָאֱהִ֗יand I have become
vaehiH1961 →3559 times
כְּ֭אִישׁlike a man
keishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
שֹׁמֵ֑עַ[is] hearing
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
בְּ֝פִ֗יוin mouth his
befivH6310 →498 times
תּוֹכָחֽוֹת׃[are] arguments
tokhachotH8433 →28 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 8:6They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:13
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of…
- Ecclesiastes 3:7
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 10:25
One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- Jeremiah 17:13
Through
Micah 7:5Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:4
“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
- Psalms 118:8–9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Matthew 10:16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Job 6:14–15
A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
- Judges 16:5–20
The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him.…
- Jeremiah 9:4
About Psalms
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 38; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Cassian, INSTITUTES 4:41; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 38:6 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.