There are 5 participants/characters in Psalm 38:
Profile List
| David
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| Strength (v. 11)
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| David's feet (v. 17)
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| YHWH
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| "My Lord" (vv. 10, 16, 23)
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| "My God" (vv. 16, 22)
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| "My salvation" (v. 23)
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| YHWH's hand (v. 3)
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| Enemies
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| "Those who seek to take my life" (v. 13)
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| "Those who pursue my harm" (v. 13)
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| "Those who have considered themselves superior to me" (v. 17)
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| "Those who are my enemies" (v. 20)
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| "Those who hate me" (v. 13)
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| "Those who repay with evil" (v. 21)
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| Companions
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| "Those who love me" (v. 12)
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| "My companions" (v. 12)
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| Relatives
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Profile Notes
- It could be argued that the companions and the enemies should be grouped together because the companions aren't acting like they should. However, the key difference is the fact that the companions take a passive role, standing at a distance, while the enemies take an active role in pursuing David's harm.
- Strength and David's feet likewise could be grouped as a related participants with companions because they also should be supporting David but are not in this case. All three abandon him. However, the referent is still David, so they are grouped as related participants with him.
- Iniquities and its synonyms could be grouped with enemies because they have similar functions in relation to David in this psalm, causing him suffering. However, David interacts with both the enemies and his iniquities differently, so they are separate participants.