Discovery BoxPsalms 38:11 
Context38:11 Because of my condition, 1 even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; 2
my neighbors stand far away. 3
Psalms 69:22
Context69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!
May it be a snare for that group of friends! 4
Psalms 88:18
Context88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; 5
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness. 6
1 tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”
2 tn Heb “stand [aloof].”
3 tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”
4 tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (ulÿshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).
5 tn Heb “you cause to be far from me friend and neighbor.”
6 tn Heb “those known by me, darkness.”
