Psalm 6 Emotional
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Psalm 6/Emotional
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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.
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.
