The Meaning of Psalms 38:7 Explained

Psalms 38:7

KJV: For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.

YLT: For my flanks have been full of drought, And soundness is not in my flesh.

Darby: For my loins are full of burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.

ASV: For my loins are filled with burning; And there is no soundness in my flesh.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For my loins  are filled  with a loathsome  [disease]: and [there is] no soundness  in my flesh. 

What does Psalms 38:7 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 38:7 mean?

For my loins are full of inflammation and [there is] no soundness in my flesh
כִּֽי־ כְ֭סָלַי מָלְא֣וּ נִקְלֶ֑ה וְאֵ֥ין מְ֝תֹ֗ם בִּבְשָׂרִֽי

כְ֭סָלַי  my  loins 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: כֶּסֶל 
Sense: loins, flank.
מָלְא֣וּ  are  full 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
נִקְלֶ֑ה  of  inflammation 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָלָה  
Sense: to roast, parch.
וְאֵ֥ין  and  [there  is]  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
מְ֝תֹ֗ם  soundness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְתֹם  
Sense: soundness, entirety, entire.
בִּבְשָׂרִֽי  in  my  flesh 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בָּשָׂר  
Sense: flesh.