Psalm 6 Discourse
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Psalm 6/Discourse
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The sound of my weeping
Psalm 6
Please note: Resources for Psalm 6 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
About the Discourse Layer
Our Discourse Layer includes four additional layers of analysis:
- Participant analysis
- Macrosyntax
- Speech act analysis
- Emotional analysis
For more information on our method of analysis, click the expandable explanation button at the beginning of each layer.
Participant Analysis
Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are # participants/characters in Psalm 6:
Profile List
| David |
| "David" (v. 1) |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2, 3[x2], 4, 5, 9, 10[x2]) |
| Enemies |
| "My adversaries" (v. 8) |
| "All you who do evil" (v. 9) |
| "my enemies (v. 11) |
Profile Notes
- David is the king of Israel. He is in covenant relationship with YHWH (2 Sam 7; Ps 89). He is YHWH's "son" (2 Sam 7:14).
- YHWH is the god of Israel. He is in covenant relationship with David (2 Sam 7; Ps 89). He is YHWH's "father" (2 Sam 7:14).
- David's enemies are those who conclude that YHWH has forsaken him (cf. Pss 3:3; 71:10–11) and try to take advantage of his weak position (cf. Pss 38:13, 17; 41:5-12).
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1 | For the director. With stringed instruments. According to the octave. A psalm. By David. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי | 2a | YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, |
| וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ | 2b | and do not discipline me in your wrath! |
| חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֮ כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי | 3a | Have mercy on me, YHWH, for I am languishing! |
| רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃ | 3b | Heal me, YHWH, for my bones have become dismayed! |
| וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד | 4a | And my soul has become very dismayed. |
| וְאַתָ יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃ | 4b | And you, YHWH How long? |
| שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י | 5a | Turn back, YHWH! Rescue my life! |
| ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ | 5b | Save me because of your loyalty! |
| כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ | 6a | For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. |
| בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃ | 6b | In Sheol, who can praise you? |
| יָגַ֤עְתִּי׀בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י | 7a | I have grown weary because of my groaning. |
| אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י | 7b | I drench my bed every night. |
| בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃ | 7c | I dissolve my couch with my tears. |
| עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י | 8a | My eye has wasted away because of vexation. |
| עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃ | 8b | It has become weak because of all my adversaries. |
| ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן | 9a | Get away from me, all you who do evil! |
| כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃ | 9b | For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. |
| שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י | 10a | YHWH has heard my plea for mercy. |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃ | 10b | YHWH will accept my prayer. |
| יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ׀וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י | 11a | May all my enemies be shamed and very dismayed! |
| יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃ | 11b | May they turn back! May they shamed in a moment! |
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
Macrosyntax
Macrosyntax Diagram
| Macrosyntax legend | |
|---|---|
| Vocatives | Vocatives are indicated by purple text. |
| Discourse marker | Discourse markers (such as כִּי, הִנֵּה, לָכֵן) are indicated by orange text. |
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The scope governed by the discourse marker is indicated by a dashed orange bracket connecting the discourse marker to its scope. |
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The preceding discourse grounding the discourse marker is indicated by a solid orange bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Subordinating conjunction | The subordinating conjunction is indicated by teal text. |
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Subordination is indicated by a solid teal bracket connecting the subordinating conjunction with the clause to which it is subordinate. |
| Coordinating conjunction | The coordinating conjunction is indicated by blue text. |
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Coordination is indicated by a solid blue line connecting the coordinating clauses. |
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Coordination without an explicit conjunction is indicated by a dashed blue line connecting the coordinated clauses. |
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Marked topic is indicated by a black dashed rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
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The scope of the activated topic is indicated by a black dashed bracket encompassing the relevant clauses. |
| Marked focus or thetic sentence | Marked focus (if one constituent) or thetic sentences[1] are indicated by bold text. |
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Frame setters[2] are indicated by a solid gray rounded rectangle around the marked words. |
| [blank line] | Discourse discontinuity is indicated by a blank line. |
| [indentation] | Syntactic subordination is indicated by indentation. |
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Direct speech is indicated by a solid black rectangle surrounding all relevant clauses. |
| (text to elucidate the meaning of the macrosyntactic structures) | Within the CBC, any text elucidating the meaning of macrosyntax is indicated in gray text inside parentheses. |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
(Click diagram to enlarge)
File:Psalm 006 - Macrosyntax.jpg
- v. 8–9. Vocative "all you who do evil" (כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן).
- v. 2. The prepositional phrases in your anger (בְּאַפְּךָ) and in your wrath (בַּחֲמָתְךָ) are fronted for marked focus. The psalmist is not requesting that YHWH refrain from discipline per se, but that YHWH refrain from discipline in anger: "Let it not be in your anger that you discipline me!"
- v. 3b. The predicate complement languishing (אֻמְלַל) is fronted for scalar focus.
- v. 4a. The phrase my soul (נַפְשִׁי) is fronted before the verb for marked topic: "and as for my soul (וְנַפְשִׁי), it is very dismayed." In the previous verse (v. 3), he talks about himself generally ("I") and about his bones ("my bones"). Now, in v. 4a he talks about his soul. With this new marked topic comes an expectation of some new information: "and as for my soul..." But this expectation is subverted when the previous line is repeated nearly verbatim—only the situation is intensified (מאֹד). Despite the new topic, the discourse goes nowhere (but down!) and leaves the reader (along with the psalmist) asking, "how long?" (v. 4b).
- Alternatively, the fronting of נַפְשִׁי could be considered an instance of additive focus: "my soul, too (in addition to my bones), has become dismayed."
- Alternatively, Lunn (2006, 234–235) argues that v. 3bβ and v. 4a form a line-pair in which the non-default word order in v. 4a creates a symmetrical pattern with v. 3bβ: A. "dismayed" B. "my bones" // B. "my soul" A. "very dismayed."
- v. 4b. The pronoun you (אַתָּ) is fronted for a contrastive topic shift. As Wendland notes, "the pronoun [you"] (v. 4b) forcefully contrasts with ["my soul"] in the preceding line (v. 4a), as the two protagonists, divine and human, are syntactically placed into prominent opposition" (2019, 231).
- v. 6a. The subject commemoration of you (זִכְרֶךָ) appears at the end of the clause, after the frame setter "in the world of the dead (בַּמָּוֶת), for completive focus.
- v. 6b. The fronting of the phrase in Sheol (בִּשְׁאוֹל) provides spatial orientation as a frame setter, but it is most likely fronted to create a poetic pattern of repetition (see v. 6a).
- v. 7b. We would normally expect the phrase every night (בְכָל־לַיְלָה), which is phonetically heavier, more morphologically complex, and less discourse-accessible than "my bed," to occur at the end of the sentence. The fact that it occurs before the object ("my bed") probably indicates scalar focus: every single night.
- v. 7c. The M-O-V word order in v. 7c creates a symmetrical pattern with the previous line: A. אַשְׂחֶה B. בְכָל־לַיְלָה מִטָּתִי // B. בְּדִמְעָתִי עַרְשִׂי A. אַמְסֶה. In addition to the semantic and morphological correspondences, note the similar sounds between מִטָּתִי ("my bed") and דִמְעָתִי ("my tears"). At the same time, the word order in v. 7c could be related to information structure. The second constituent, "my couch" (עַרְשִׂי), which is already active from the previous clause, could be a fronted topic, and the first constituent, "with my tears" (בְּדִמְעָתִי) could be fronted for marked focus, providing the focal material for the presupposition "drench (אַשְׂחֶה from previous clause) with X."
- v. 8a. The phrase because of vexation (מִכַּעַס) occurs before the subject "my eye," perhaps as marked focus. Alternatively perhaps "my eye" (עֵינִי) has been postposed to create the line-end pattern of 1cs suffixes.
- v. 10b. The double fronting in v. 10b—"YHWH my-prayer will-accept"—creates a pattern of symmetry with previous line/clause.
- v. 2a. The clause-initial vocative YHWH in v. 2a signals the beginning of a conversational turn.
- v. 3. The two vocatives in v. 3, YHWH... YHWH, which are clause-medial, preceding the subordinate כִּי clauses, focus the content of each subordinate clause (Kim 2022, 235-237).
- v. 4b. The vocative YHWH in v. 4b occurs after the fronted constituent, "you" (אַתָּ), in order to "mark the detached element as conversationally significant" (Kim 2022, 227-233), i.e., to create the contrastive topic fronting.
- v. 5a. The vocative YHWH in v. 5a occurs in second position, either for clause-division (Miller 2010, 360-363) or, more likely, to indicate increasing intensity and urgency between the two imperatives.
- v. 9a. The vocative in v. 9a all you who do evil (כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן) is clause-medial, preceding the subordinate כִּי clause, and it focuses the content of the subordinate clause (Kim 2022, 235-237).
- (There are no notes on discourse markers for this psalm)
- (There are no notes on conjunctions for this psalm)
Speech Act Analysis
The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Summary Visual
| Speaker | Verses | Macro Speech Acts | Addressee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | v. 2 YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, and do not discipline me in your wrath. | PLEA FOR MERCY
|
YHWH | |||
| v. 3 Have mercy on me, YHWH, for I am languishing. Heal me, YHWH, for my bones have become dismayed. | ||||||
| v. 4 And my soul has become very dismayed. And you, YHWH, how long? | ||||||
| v. 5 Turn back, YHWH. Rescue my soul. Save me for the sake of your loyalty. | ||||||
| v. 6 For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. In Sheol, who praises you? | ||||||
| v. 7 I have grown weary because of my groaning. I drench my couch every night. With my tears I melt my bed. | DESCRIPTION OF DISMAY
|
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| v. 8 My eye has wasted away because of vexation. It has become weak because of all my adversaries. | ||||||
| v. 9 Move away from me, all workers of evil. For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. | ORDER TO LEAVE
|
Enemies | ||||
| v. 10 YHWH has heard my supplication. YHWH will accept my prayer. | ||||||
| v. 11 Let all my enemies be shamed and very dismayed. Let them turn back. Let them be shamed in an instant. | REQUEST FOR JUSTICE
|
YHWH | ||||
Speech Act Analysis Chart
The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).
| Verse | Hebrew | CBC | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) |
| Verse number and poetic line | Hebrew text | English translation | Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
More specific illocution type with paraphrased context | Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings |
What the speaker intends for the address to think | What the speaker intends for the address to feel | What the speaker intends for the address to do |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) | Speech Act Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | For the director. With stringed instruments. According to the octave. A psalm. By David. | Fragments | Assertive | Giving information about the psalm's genre and author and instructions for its performance | |||||
| 2 | יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי | YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, | Imperative | Directive | Pleading that YHWH would not correct in anger | Pleading for mercy and healing | YHWH will see the urgency of the situation: how David is dismayed, languishing, and near death | YHWH will be merciful (favorably disposed) to David | YHWH will heal David | |
| וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ | and do not discipline me in your wrath! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading that YHWH would not discipline in wrath | ||||||
| 3 | חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֮ | Have mercy on me, YHWH, | Imperative | Directive | Pleading for mercy (cf. תְּחִנָּתִי in v. 10) | |||||
| כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי | for I am languishing! | Indicative | Assertive | |||||||
| רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה | Heal me, YHWH, | Imperative | Directive | Praying for healing (cf. תְּפִלָּתִי in v. 10) | ||||||
| כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃ | for my bones have become dismayed! | Indicative | Assertive | |||||||
| 4 | וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד | And my soul has become very dismayed. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing his deep dismay | |||||
| וְאַתָּ֥ יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃ | And you, YHWH ... How long? | Fragments | Expressive | Expressing his long-felt dismay, as well as his desire for mercy and healing | • The question how long? (עַד־מָתָי) is a rhetorical question. It is not an attempt to elicit information but an expression of dismay and frustration. | |||||
| 5 | שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה | Turn back, YHWH! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading that YHWH would turn from anger | |||||
| חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י | Rescue my life! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading that YHWH would rescue his life | ||||||
| ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ | Save me because of your loyalty! | Imperative | Directive | Pleading that YHWH would save him because of YHWH's loyalty | ||||||
| 6 | כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ | For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. | Indicative | Assertive | Giving the reason why YHWH should save him: if he dies, he will not be able to commemorate YHWH | |||||
| בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃ | In Sheol, who can praise you? | Interrogative | Assertive | Giving the reason why YHWH should save him: if he dies, he will not be able to praise YHWH | • The question in v. 6b is rhetorical. The psalmist is making a strong claim: "no one can praise you there" (GNT). | |||||
| 7 | יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י | I have grown weary because of my groaning. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing his weary state | Describing his miserable, dismayed state | ||||
| אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י | I drench my bed every night. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing how he weeps profusely every single night | ||||||
| בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃ | I dissolve my couch with my tears. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing how he weeps so much that he dissolves his couch with his tears | ||||||
| 8 | עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י | My eye has wasted away because of vexation. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing his state of vexation and poor health | |||||
| עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃ | It has become weak because of all my adversaries. | Indicative | Assertive | Describing his weak condition and introducing his "adversaries" as part of the problem | ||||||
| 9 | ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן | Get away from me, all you who do evil! | Imperative | Directive | Ordering his enemies to leave him | Ordering his enemies to leave him | The enemies will see that YHWH has not rejected David, but has heard his plea for mercy | The enemies will be dismayed | The enemies will get away from David | |
| כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃ | For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. | Indicative | Assertive | Asserting that YHWH has heard his weeping, as a reason why his enemies should leave him | ||||||
| 10 | שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י | YHWH has heard my plea for mercy. | Indicative | Assertive | Asserting that YHWH has heard his plea for mercy, as a reason why his enemies should leave him | |||||
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃ | YHWH will accept my prayer. | Indicative | Assertive | Asserting that YHWH will accept his prayer, as a reason why his enemies should leave him | ||||||
| 11 | יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ | May all my enemies be shamed | Imperative | Directive | Asking YHWH to shame his enemies | Asking for justice | YHWH would give justice to David by punishing his enemies | |||
| וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י | and very dismayed! | Imperative | Directive | Asking YHWH to make his enemies dismayed, just as he was dismayed | ||||||
| יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ | May they turn back! | Imperative | Directive | Asking YHWH to reverse the situation and send his enemies away from him | ||||||
| יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃ | May they shamed in a moment! | Imperative | Directive | Asking YHWH to shame his enemies quickly |
Emotional Analysis
This layer explores the emotional dimension of the biblical text and seeks to uncover the clues within the text itself that are part of the communicative intent of its author. The goal of this analysis is to chart the basic emotional tone and/or progression of the psalm.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Emotional Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Emotional Analysis Chart
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
| Verse | Text (Hebrew) | Text (CBC) | Proposition (Emotional Analysis) | The Psalmist Feels | Emotional Analysis Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | For the director. With stringed instruments. According to the octave. A psalm. By David. | |||
| 2 | יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי | YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, | YHWH corrects David | • David is languishing (= sad, ashamed, despondent, miserable); he feels dismay (= afraid, alarmed, distressed) and vexation (= angry, discontented), and he is desparate for YHWH to hear him. In short, David expresses the entire range of negative emotion. | In vv. 2–8, the psalmist explicitly describes his emotional state using a variety of terms. Because the term "dismay" (בהל) features so prominently in this psalm, the emotions implied by this word (fear, distress, alarm) are considered especially prominent. |
| וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ | and do not discipline me in your wrath! | YHWH disciplines David | |||
| 3 | חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֮ | Have mercy on me, YHWH, | YHWH has mercy on David | ||
| כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי | for I am languishing! | David is languishing | languishing: "results include weakness, sadness, and shame" (SDBH) | ||
| רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה | Heal me, YHWH, | YHWH heals David | |||
| כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃ | for my bones have become dismayed! | David becomes dismayed | dismayed: "state in which humans experience a great fear combined with severe distress, often accompanied by physical symptoms, such trembling and pain" (SDBH) | ||
| 4 | וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד | And my soul has become very dismayed. | David becomes dismayed | ||
| וְאַתָּ֥ יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃ | And you, YHWH ... How long? | ||||
| 5 | שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה | Turn back, YHWH! | YHWH turns back | ||
| חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י | Rescue my life! | YHWH rescues David | |||
| ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ | Save me because of your loyalty! | YHWH saves David | |||
| 6 | כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ | For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. | There is commemoration of YHWH | ||
| בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃ | In Sheol, who can praise you? | People praise YHWH | |||
| 7 | יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י | I have grown weary because of my groaning. | David grows weary | groaning: "caused by pain, grief, or severe suffering" (SDBH) | |
| אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י | I drench my bed every night. | David drenches his bed | |||
| בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃ | I dissolve my couch with my tears. | David dissolves his couch | tears: "primarily associated with grief and mourning" (SDBH) | ||
| 8 | עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י | My eye has wasted away because of vexation. | David wastes away | vexation: "state in which humans experience displeasure" (SDBH; lexical domain: "Anger;" contextual domain: "Joy and Grief"). "The root always denotes 'a sense of exasperation, a bad temper,' a 'very intense emotion.' Almost always—most of the exceptions being in Ecclesiastes—there is an interpersonal context: kaʿas is evoked by others and leads to a reaction against them" (TDOT) | |
| עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃ | It has become weak because of all my adversaries. | David becomes weak | |||
| 9 | ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן | Get away from me, all you who do evil! | David's enemies get away from him | • David is convinced that YHWH has heard his plea for mercy; he feels triumph over his enemies | In vv. 9–11, there are no explicit emotional descriptions. But the content and the speech acts in this section imply a strong emotional shift, from negative emotion (vv. 2–8) to positive emotion (vv. 9–11). "The tone and atmosphere of the psalm change radically in these last three verses. It may have been the case that as the psalmist progressed in prayer, he eventually reached a point where faith and confidence outstripped anguish and despair" (Craigie 1983, 94). |
| כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃ | For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. | YHWH hears the sound of David's weeping | |||
| 10 | שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י | YHWH has heard my plea for mercy. | YHWH hears David's plea for mercy | ||
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃ | YHWH will accept my prayer. | YHWH accepts David's prayer | |||
| 11 | יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ | May all my enemies be shamed | David's enemies come to shame | ||
| וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י | and very dismayed! | David's enemies become very dismayed | |||
| יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ | May they turn back! | David's enemies turn back | |||
| יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃ | May they shamed in a moment! | David's enemies come to shame |
Summary Visual
(Click visual to enlarge).
Affective Circumplex
The affective circumplex locates emotions on two axes: (1) positive vs. negative valence; and (2) active vs. passive activation. Since emotional terminology often carries unintended cultural connotations, the purpose of the circumplex is to ease translation of emotions across different languages and cultures.
Bibliography
- Alter, Robert. 2011. The Art of Biblical Poetry. Impression. Edinburgh: Clark.
- Anderson, A. A. 1972. The Book of Psalms. Vol. 1. NCBC. Greenwood, SC: Attic.
- Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.
- Barthélemy, Dominique, Norbert Lohfink, Alexander R. Hulst, William D. McHardy, H. Peter Rüger, and James A. Sanders. 2005. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament 4: Psaumes. Edited by Stephen Desmond Ryan and Adrian Schenker. Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 50,4. Fribourg: Academic Press.
- Bullinger, E. W. 1898. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible: London: Eyre & Spottiswoode.
- Childs, Brevard S. 1962. Memory and Tradition in Israel. Studies in Biblical Theology 37. Naperville: Alec R. Allenson Inc.
- Cook, John A. 2024. The Biblical Hebrew Verb: A Linguistic Introduction. Learning Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
- Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Waco, TX: Word.
- Foxvog, D. A., and A. D. Kilmer. 1979. “Music.” In The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
- Gentry, Peter. 2019. “A Preliminary Evaluation and Critique of Prosopological Exegesis.” SBJT 23, no. 2.
- Hardy, H.H. 2022. The Development of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions. Ancient Near East Monographs 28. Atlanta: SBL Press.
- Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 1993. Die Psalmen I: Psalm 1–50. Neue Echter Bibel. Würzburg: Echter.
- Jenni, Ernst. 1992. Die Hebräischen Präpositionen Band 1: Die Präposition Beth. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.
- Keel, Othmar. 1997. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns.
- Kilmer, A.D., R.L. Crocker, and R. R. Brown. 1976. Sounds from Silence : Recent Discoveries in Ancient Near Eastern Music. Berkeley: Bit Enki publications.
- Kim, Young Bok. 2022. “Hebrew Forms of Address: A Sociolinguistic Analysis.” PhD, University of Chicago.
- Kraus, Hans-Joachim. 1988. Psalms 1-59 : A Commentary. Minneapolis : Augsburg Pub. House.
- Kuckhoff, Antonius. 2011. Psalm 6 und die Bitten im Psalter: ein paradigmatisches Bitt-und Klagegebet im Horizont des Gesamtpsalters. Bonner Biblische Beiträge 160. Göttingen/Bonn: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht/Bonn University Press.
- Lewis, Theodore J. 1992. “Dead, Abode of The.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, II:101–5. New York: Doubleday.
- van der Lugt, Pieter. 2006. Cantos and Strophes in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: With Special Reference to the First Book of the Psalter. Vol. 1. Oudtestamentische Studiën 53. Leiden: Brill.
- Lunn, Nicholas P. 2006. Word-Order Variation in Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Differentiating Pragmatics and Poetics. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Paternoster.
- Mena, Andrea K. 2012. "The Semantic Potential of עַל in Genesis, Psalms, and Chronicles." MA Thesis. Stellenbosch University.
- Radak. Radak on Psalms.
- Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.
- Rogerson, J.W., and J.W. McKay. 1977. Psalms. Vol. 1. The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Smith, Jannes. "Psalm 6: A Commentary on the Text-as-Produced."
- Staszak, Martin. 2024. The Preposition Min. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament (BWANT) 246. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
- Waltke, Bruce K. 2014. The Psalms as Christian Lament: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
- Weber, Beat. 2016. Werkbuch Psalmen. 1: Die Psalmen 1 bis 72, zweite, aktualisierte Auflage. Stuttgart:.
- Wendland, Ernst R. 2019. “‘Do the Dead Praise God?’ A Literary-Structural Analysis and Translation of Psalm 6.” In Ancient Texts and Modern Readers: Studies in Ancient Hebrew Linguistics and Bible Translation, edited by Gideon Kotzé, Christian S. Locatell, and John A. Messarra, 228–245. Leiden: Brill.
Footnotes
- ↑ When the entire utterance is new/unexpected, it is a thetic sentence (often called "sentence focus"). See our Creator Guidelines for more information on topic and focus.
- ↑ Frame setters are any orientational constituent – typically, but not limited to, spatio-temporal adverbials – function to "limit the applicability of the main predication to a certain restricted domain" and "indicate the general type of information that can be given" in the clause nucleus (Krifka & Musan 2012: 31-32). In previous scholarship, they have been referred to as contextualizing constituents (see, e.g., Buth (1994), “Contextualizing Constituents as Topic, Non-Sequential Background and Dramatic Pause: Hebrew and Aramaic evidence,” in E. Engberg-Pedersen, L. Falster Jakobsen and L. Schack Rasmussen (eds.) Function and expression in Functional Grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 215-231; Buth (2023), “Functional Grammar and the Pragmatics of Information Structure for Biblical Languages,” in W. A. Ross & E. Robar (eds.) Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 67-116), but this has been conflated with the function of topic. In brief: sentence topics, belonging to the clause nucleus, are the entity or event about which the clause provides a new predication; frame setters do not belong in the clause nucleus and rather provide a contextual orientation by which to understand the following clause.