What Does Psalm 38:1 Mean in the King James?
A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The prayer does not ask to escape correction; it asks that correction not arrive inside the LORD’s scorching anger.
THE MEANING
This prayer gives words to the moment when correction feels joined to anger: it asks that rebuke and discipline not come in divine wrath. The Hebrew word for “chasten” also carries the sense of instruction, while “hot displeasure” names heat; the plea concerns the force surrounding correction, not an escape from being corrected.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Every correction is proof that I am being met with anger.
THE ROOT
תְיַסְּרֵנִי
tĕyassĕrēnî
GROWS FROM
יסר
To discipline, correct, or instruct.
The word for “chasten” comes from a root that also yields מוּסָר (mūsār), “instruction” or “discipline.” Correction can carry formation and pain together; the prayer asks that it not be enclosed by heat and rage.
ALSO GROWS
mūsār: Instruction; discipline.
מוּסָר
This branch lets the verse’s correction carry a sense of teaching and formation.
yissūrīm: Chastisements; afflictions.
יִסּוּרִים
This branch preserves the painful force of discipline that the prayer names.
חֲמָתְךָ
ḥămāṯəḵā
GROWS FROM
חמה
Heat; by extension, rage or fury.
The Hebrew word ḥēmāh (חֵמָה) carries both heat and rage. The English phrase “hot displeasure” preserves the temperature, while Hebrew keeps heat at the center of the word itself.
ALSO GROWS
ḥam: Hot; warm.
חַם
This related form keeps the physical image of heat visible in “hot displeasure.”
ḥammāh: Sun; the heating one.
חַמָּה
This related form connects the word family with a source of heat, making the verse’s anger imagery concrete.
THE PATTERN
Correction is not identical with anger: scripture can plead against correction in wrath and describe discipline as an expression of love.
To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.THE THREAD
To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.The same Hebrew root יסר (y-s-r; yāsar), “to discipline or instruct,” appears in both prayers, alongside words for anger and heat. The repeated wording makes the request precise: the speaker names the correction and pleads about the anger surrounding it.
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