Bible Strands
Psalms 38:14
I am like a man who cannot hear, whose mouth offers no reply.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks to God during a season of acute affliction, placing his silent stance between the description of his suffering in verse 13 and his renewed expectation of divine response in verse 15.
The words — The Hebrew שֹׁמֵ֑עַ (sho.Me.a') denotes the active capacity to hear, while תּוֹכָחֽוֹת (to.kha.Chot) refers to reproofs or arguments, indicating the speaker’s deliberate refusal to engage his accusers.
The thread — This disciplined silence appears in Amos 5:13 as the prudent response to corrupt times, and reappears in the Gospels where Jesus remains mute before the chief priests’ charges (Mark 15:3; John 8:6).
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to adopt a posture of restrained silence that withholds self-defense and reserves judgment and response for God alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
Cross-references
- Amos 5:13 Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.
- John 8:6 They 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.
- Mark 15:3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.
- Micah 7:5 Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.