Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 38:11

"My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand afar off." — Psalms 38:11 (ASV)

My lovers - See the notes at (Psalms 31:11). The reference here is to those who professed to be his friends.

And my friends - The word used here means properly an acquaintance, a companion, a friend (Job 2:11; Job 19:21); then, a lover, a friend, a neighbor. The phrase here would be synonymous with our word “kinsmen.”

Stand aloof - They are unwilling to come near me; they leave me to suffer alone.

From my sore - Margin: “stroke.” The Hebrew word means properly a stroke, a blow (Deuteronomy 17:8; Deuteronomy 21:5); then a stroke in the sense of calamities or judgments, such as God brings upon men (Genesis 12:17; Exodus 11:1). The meaning here is, that they stand aloof from him, or refuse to come near him, as if he were afflicted with some contagious disease.

And my kinsmen - Margin: “neighbors.” The Hebrew word used here - קרוב qârôb - means properly near; spoken of a place (Genesis 19:20); then of time (Isaiah 13:6); then of kindred or affinity (Numbers 27:11); and then of friendship, meaning our intimate acquaintance - as we should say, those who are “near” to us (Job 19:14). The word would be applicable to neighbors or to warm personal friends.