The Meaning of Psalms 38:6 Explained

Psalms 38:6

KJV: I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

YLT: I have been bent down, I have been bowed down -- unto excess, All the day I have gone mourning.

Darby: I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day.

ASV: I am pained and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I am troubled;  I am bowed down  greatly;  I go  mourning  all the day  long. 

What does Psalms 38:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 38:1-22 - The Cry Of The Needy Penitent
A long drawn-out sigh of pain. Some think it should be classed with Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 51:1-19, as belonging to the time of David's fall and repentance. It is filled with a sense of God's judgments and the profound consciousness of sin. Perhaps David was suffering physically, or he may be describing his spiritual maladies in terms borrowed from that source. His friends stood apart and his enemies were near. But it was wise to refrain from man and to wait only on God. When we are buffeted and derided, the true attitude is our Lord's. As the dumb sheep before her shearers, He opened not His mouth!
In Psalms 38:15 the tone becomes calmer. The soul begins to recover its center of gravity in God. Notice the fourfold repetition of For, Psalms 38:15-18. Faith marshals her arguments. Out of "stony griefs" she builds "Bethels." Like Samson, she finds honey in the lion's carcass. But God will not forsake. He never for a moment withdraws His close attention. The Refiner sits by the crucible, and will cool down the heat the moment it has done its work. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 38

1  David moves God to take compassion on his pitiful case

What do the individual words in Psalms 38:6 mean?

I am troubled I am bowed down even to greatly all the day long mourning I go
נַעֲוֵ֣יתִי שַׁחֹ֣תִי עַד־ מְאֹ֑ד כָּל־ הַ֝יּ֗וֹם קֹדֵ֥ר הִלָּֽכְתִּי

נַעֲוֵ֣יתִי  I  am  troubled 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עָוָה 
Sense: to bend, twist, distort.
שַׁחֹ֣תִי  I  am  bowed  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁחַח 
Sense: to bow, crouch, bow down, be bowed down.
עַד־  even  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
מְאֹ֑ד  greatly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
הַ֝יּ֗וֹם  the  day  long 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
קֹדֵ֥ר  mourning 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָדַר  
Sense: to mourn, be dark.
הִלָּֽכְתִּי  I  go 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.