Tehillim 38 | "For Your Arrows Strike me"

The poet cries out to God from the depths of severe illness. He perceives his affliction as God’s arrows, and lingers on the painful details of the sickness, which are compounded by the pangs of guilt for his sins that brought this suffering upon him: “my bones are not well because of my sin” (38:4). He also describes the profound sense of abandonment by his friends who have distanced themselves when he became ill: “My loved ones, my friends – they shrink away at my suffering” (38:12). It seems the illness described here is some form of contagious skin disease. The distance of others may be explained not merely by cruelty or ingratitude towards one who lost his greatness, but by legitimate concern for health and safety. Still, for the one who is ill, the experience is that of a painful betrayal, that leaves him with only one address to turn to: “Do not abandon me, Lord; my God, do not stray far from me. Rush to my help, O Lord, my salvation” (38:22–23).

As is often the case in poetry, and particularly in the psalms, the description of the illness, the poet’s sin, and the actions of his enemies remain vague and open-ended. This ambiguity is intentional, and it allows every sufferer wherever they may be, to identify with the psalm in the future and make it his own. As Chazal taught: "Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said, 'Everything that David said in his book, he said corresponding to himself, to all of Israel, and to all times.'" (Midrash Tehillim, Psalm 18).