Psalm 6/Summary

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Summary

Line divisions

2a יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי
2b וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃
3a חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֘ כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי
3b רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃
4a וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד
4b וְאַתָּ יְ֜הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃
5a שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י
5b ‎ה֜וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃
6a כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ
6b בִּ֜שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃
7a יָגַ֤עְתִּי׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י
7b אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י
7c בְּ֜דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃
8a עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י
8b עָֽ֜תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃
9a ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן
9b כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֜הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃
10a שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י
10b יְ֜הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃
11a יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י
11b יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃

"The total of 21 cola is safe, as the vast majority of witnesses confirms it."[1] This same 21-line division finds external support in the ancient Greek codices, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. It has internal support in the resulting beauty of the structure (21 = 7 x 3; middle line: 7 syllables).

  • v.3. Should this verse be divided into four lines (1 clause = 1 line) or two? With regard to manuscript evidence, both divisions are attested. Division into four lines may be supported by Codex Leningradensis, which has a space between חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֘ and כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי. The spacing of the Aleppo Codex suggests division into two lines, as does the division of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. The Masoretic accentuation might support either decision; the primary division (ole weyored) is between 3a and 3b (above) with secondary divisions (tsinnor and athnah) after יהוה in each half.
  • v.11. The exceptional length of v.11a (14 syllables) leads Fokkelman, following Kraus, to "desert the Masoretes here as regards the caesura and place the subject, 'all my enemies', in the B-colon," in order to achieve "a better balance of 10 + 12 syllables."[2] He has not quite deserted the Masoretes with this decision, since Codex Leningradensis has a large space between יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד and כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃, reflecting the very same division. The scribe of the Aleppo Codex also appeared to struggle with the division of this line. יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ appears as its own line, followed by וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י (space) יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃. Watson divides the verse as a tricolon (יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד / כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י / יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃).[3],

Section divisions

"The text appears to divide itself topically and functionally into four stanzas—two longer outer poetic units, which focus on Yahweh, and two shorter inner ones, which focus on the psalmist himself: A (1-3), B (4-5), C (6-7), and D (8-10). Most commentators combine stanzas B and C into a single poetic unit, e.g., Craigie, Psalms, 92; deClaissé et al, Book of Psalms, 102; Goldingay, Psalms, 135; Brueggemann and Bellinger, Psalms, 50." The dynamics of this discourse, however, favors four distinct poetic segments."[4]

Stanza A (vv.2-4)
Stanza B (vv.5-6)
Stanza C (vv.7-8)
Stanza D (vv.9-11),

Communicative function

"The rhetorical movement of these four units may be described as follows:

In stanza A the psalmist plaintively lays out his desperate situation before Yahweh: spiritually (v.2, God is angry), physically (v.3, the psalmist’s body is weak), and psychologically (v.4, he is terrified)—the three conditions seemingly representing a consequential progression. Pragmatically, a pair of negative appeals to God (v. 2) are followed by two positive correspondents (v.3), and then a summary, as it were, of his dreadful state that ends in the formulaic עַד־מָתָֽי (v.4), i.e., 'how long' will I have to endure such trauma?! Reinforcing his urgent plea, the psalmist invokes the divine covenantal name in every verse of this strophe, four times in total. Whatever the cause of his pitiful condition, the Lord God was the psalmist’s only viable solution.

A much more specific and logically supported appeal to the LORD to act on the psalmist’s behalf begins stanza B, with three imperatives packed into v.5: “turn" (שׁוּבָה) – “rescue” (ַחַלְּצָה) – “deliver” me (ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי)! The requested actions are all based on that essential covenantal relationship that binds the believer with his God in the OT, namely, the key concept of “steadfast faithfulness” (חֶסֶד), which forcefully ends the verse. In the next bicolon then, the psalmist offers another cogent reason (leading off with a consequential כִּי , v. 6a) to motivate Yahweh’s positive response: a person cannot praise and glorify God if s/he is dead—the fundamental connection between deity and worshiper would be broken! (6b).

Stanza C leads off with the longest line of the psalm, a tricolon. This segment expresses a doleful dirge that summarizes the psalmist’s wretched personal (physical and psychological) condition as well as his adverse social situation. He is in a miserable mental state (7), and now suddenly it appears as if many hostile adversaries or simply pestering onlookers vex him (8b), as in the case of Job (e.g., 30:1-15). These sad lines, coupled with those of stanza B include 'the three relational parties that are often names in prayers for help: God (you), the psalmist (I), and the enemies.'[5] The lament reaches its emotional peak (or nadir!) in the tricolon of v. 6 and its pitiful verbal pictures of a grievously ill and sorrowful psalmist.

An almost shocking shift in topic and tone begins the final stanza D (v.9a), which creates a dramatic pause and shift of perspective within the prayer. The basic pragmatic pattern of imperative followed by rationale continues, as in the two preceding stanzas A and B, but now the psalmist unexpectedly turns upon the hostile “mischief- makers” (פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן) just mentioned in v.8b and orders them to “get out!” (ס֣וּרוּ). How could he be so bold under the circumstances? Three subsequent cola say essentially the same thing: “Yahweh has answered my prayer!” (9b-10)—either by means of some miraculous act of restoration (from an apparent illness), or through confident anticipation, a personal reaching out in faith to what he’s sure will soon happen. In any case, the psalm’s final line proclaims the Lord’s judgment upon his erstwhile enemies, who will end up being publicly humiliated as a result of the psalmist’s divine vindication (v.11)."[6],

Range of emotions

The mixed feelings of fear, sadness, and anticipation that characterize the first half of the psalm (vv.2-6) give way to pure grief in section 3 (vv.7-8), the “emotional peak (or nadir!)” of the psalm.[7] It is as though the psalmist is already experiencing the grief of Sheol (v.6b). At the onset of section 4 (vv.9-11), "the tone and atmosphere of the psalm change radically."[8] Paralyzed grief gives way to animated anger and confident vigilance.

Section 1 (vv.2-4) – Sadness/Grief + Fear
Section 2 (vv.5-6) – Sadness + Fear + Anticipation
Section 3 (vv.7-8) – Grief
Section 4 (vv.9-11) – Disgust + Anger + Vigilance,

Cohesion

Section 1 (vv.2-4)

Section 2 (vv.5-6)

  • character features: 2nd person address to Yahweh
  • emotional: sadness/grief + anticipation
  • pragmatic: petition (v.5) + basis (v.6)
  • discourse words: vv.5-6 connected by כִּי
  • architectonic: parallelism (vv.5ab, 6ab)
  • prosodic: 15 words

Section 3 (vv.7-8)
Strophe 3 "is a nocturne and is characterized by the description of personal misery, with a chain of prepositional adjuncts, rhymes and five verbal predicates; three of these are perfect forms and surround the other two, which are situated in the chiasm of v.7bc."[9]

  • character features: 1st person; no mention of Yahweh
  • emotional: deep grief
  • pragmatic: lament
  • verbs: assertive modality (no volitives)
  • nouns: feminine nouns
  • figurative language (esp. hyperbole); evocative language; graphic imagery
  • phonology: alliteration of guttural + sonorant/sibilant; repetition of תִּי (see above)
  • lexical semantics: rare vocabulary (see above)
  • architectonic: parallelism (vv.7abc, 8ab); chiasm at center (v.7bc)
  • prosodic: 15 words

Section 4 (vv.9-11)

  • character features: enemies as addressee (vv.9-10) and subject (vv.9a; 11ab [inclusio]); 3rd person reference to Yahweh (vv.9a-10ab)
  • emotional: anger + confident expectation
  • pragmatic: command/rebuke (v.9a) + profession (vv.9b-10ab) + petition (v.11ab)
  • discourse words: כִּי connecting vv.9b-10ab with v.9a.
  • lexical semantics: repetition of כֹּל, שׁמע, יֵבֹשׁוּ
  • architectonic: parallelism (vv.9ab, 10ab, 11ab)
  • prosodic: 24 words,

Discontinuity & boundaries

"Four strophes clearly emerge in this psalm, the first and second ending in typical Hebraic fashion with a question, the first, second, and fourth beginning, equally typically, with imperatives."[10]

  • Anaphora – "Strophes 1, 2, and 4 start with a command (in prohibitive form in v.2)."[11]
  • Epiphora – Sections 1 and 2 are concluded with rhetorical questions.

Section 1 --> Section 2

Section 2 --> Section 3

Section 3 --> Section 4
"An almost shocking shift in topic and tone begins the final stanza D (v.9a), which creates a dramatic pause and shift of perspective within the prayer."[12]

Feature clustering

Section 3, especially v.7bc (see below),

Prominence

Section 3 stands out in several ways:

  • There is an abundance of figurative/evocative language: weary sighing (7a), drowning/melting a bed with tears (7bc), eye swelling/aging (8ab).
  • The first line of the section (7a) is the middle line of the psalm; it is also the shortest (7-syllables).
  • The section begins with a tricolon (v.7abc), the only non-bicolic verse in the psalm.
  • Deep emotional grief characterizes this section.
  • ) cluster in this section.
  • It is the most phonologically marked section in the psalm: dense alliteration (guttural + sonorant/sibilant); repetition of תִּי (see above).
  • The chiasm of v.7bc may be the most complex construction in the entire psalm (numerous linguistic correspondences)
  • The section is uniquely 1st person; no mention of Yahweh (as though already in Sheol, cf. 6b)
  • There is a unique cluster of feminine nouns,

Connections between sections

  • v.4 (section 1) --> v.11 (section 4)

"Verse 11 is a subtle counterpart to v.4. Both verses conclude a strophe. In vv.4a and 11a bhl first works against the speaker, then against the enemies, and is both times emphasized by מאד. In the B-colon that follows in both cases, there are polar notions of time: 'how long?' the poet asks in strophe 1, elliptically, and in 11b ignominy comes 'in an instant.'"[13] Note also the phonological similarities between וְ֭נַפְשִׁי and יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ (glide + labial + sibilant), the first words of each verse.

v.4. ‎וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד // וְאַתָּ יְ֜הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃
v.11. ‎יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י // יָ֜שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃,

Large-scale structures

"This poem has a tight structure with two stanzas of two strophes each, which mirror each other as 3 + 2 and 2 + 3 verses. The words support the symmetry with their own balance: 24 + 15 and 15 + 24. The fine measures of the two halves are almost the same: 94 and 95 syllables... The central position is occupied by death and illness, in strophes 2 and 3. Flanking these are two supplications (in view of the root חנן) by the speaker. He is panicking and terrified (bhl, strophe 1: vv.3b and 4a) and wishes his enemies the same (bhl, strophe 4)."[14]

Section 1 (3 verses; 24 words)
Section 2 (2 verses; 15 words)
Section 3 (2 verses; 15 words)
Section 4 (3 verses; 24 words),

Translation

Direct Literary Translation by Ernst Wendland

Lord, don’t punish me in anger,
don’t chasten me in your wrath.
Rather, have mercy—I’m so weak;
heal me, for I’m feeling such pain.
Indeed, I’m sick in mind and heart—
how long then before you respond?
Come back to me, Lord, deliver me;
Save me since your love never fails.
If I’m dead, how can I worship you?
No one remembers you in the grave!
I’m truly worn out with weeping;
I cry to you day and night for aid;
my bed is drenched with my tears.
My eyes are very bleary with grief—
many enemies make it much worse.
Away with you all, you wicked fellows!
God has heard my anguished weeping.
The Lord listens to these cries for help.
He will surely respond to my prayers.
All my foes will be turned right around;
So swiftly they’re shamed and shunned!


Poetic Translation by Ryan Sikes

Yahweh, my father, do not be mad.
Do not punish me in your wrath.
Be kind, Yahweh, for I am frail
Heal me, Yahweh, for my frame is ailed.
Ailed as well is my soul.
How long, Yahweh...?
Relent, Yahweh! Rescue my soul!
Save me for your loyal love.
For, in death, you are not named.
In Sheol, who can give you praise?
Exhausted by my sighs am I.
My sheets–they swim for nights and nights.
My tears dissolve my bed like ice.
My eyes–they’ve swollen twice their size.
My eyes have aged; my rivals rage.
Away with you, you wicked men!
Yahweh has listened to my lament.
Yahweh has listened to my plea.
Yahweh will respond to me.
May all my foes be ailed, be shamed!
At once, be mashed, be shamed!


Notes for Translators
"Among the chief functionally-oriented 'communicative clues' that translators should endeavor to reproduce idiomatically in their TL text are these:

  • the essential poetic structure of Psalm 6 in terms of four stanza divisions;
  • the sorrowful emotive overtones that run throughout the first three stanzas;
  • the unexpected, but strong (imperative) and motivated shift in attitude and outlook that characterizes stanza D;
  • the mini-climaxes in oratorical import which seem to occur at the end of each stanza, i.e., vv.4b (rhetorical question), 6b (rhetorical question), 8b (the sudden revelation that the psalmist’s suffering is social as well as physical), 11 (the thematic “turning” that occurs when the enemies are “shamed”—wordplay);
  • the pragmatic force (topic/focus) of the periodic, fronted nominal phrases noted in the earlier exegetical analysis (e.g., v.2ab);
  • the semantic implication of the occasional Hebrew conjunctive particles (e.g., the parallel כּי 'for' clauses in v.3ab 'reason,' or motivational use here);
  • other, deliberately positioned (fronted/backed) syntactic elements that forge contrastive or complementary linkages on the textual microstructure (e.g., the antithetical implication of the initial pronoun אַתָּה in v.4b in contrast with נַפְשִׁי in the preceding line, 4a);
  • the phonological and lexical reiteration which create perceptible cohesive connections throughout the psalm and hence the prayer as a whole;
  • a functionally-equivalent TL literary genre (along the lines of a lament with an optimistic topical surprise at the end) that can duplicate the artistry, impact, and appeal of the original Hebrew poetry on the macro-level of discourse."[15],

Outline or visual representation

(This began as Wendland's Expository outline[16], but may be adapted.)

I. David’s appeal. (1-7)

A. What he wants. (1-2,4-5)
1. Do not:
a. Rebuke me in anger.
b. Chasten me in Thy wrath.
2. Do heal my spiritual and physical conditions:
a. Have mercy: I am weak.
b. Heal me: My bones are vexed.
c. Heal me: My soul is greatly vexed.
d. Deliver and save me: For thy mercy’s sake.
B. How long? (3)
C. Why he wants it. (3,6-7)
1. Because of God’s loving kindness.
2. Because he can’t remember or praise God if He is dead.
(Remember: This was prior to the death and resurrection of Christ. Death is different now.)
3. He is weary with sighing, crying, and grieving.
Tears are liquid prayers. Weeping is a universal language.
4. The battle is aging him.

II. David’s assurance. (8-10)

A. Those who work iniquity will depart.
B. The Lord has heard his weeping.
C. The Lord has heard his supplication.
D. The Lord receives his prayer.
E. The enemy will:
1. Be ashamed.
2. Be vexed.
3. Turn back from pursuing him.
  1. ↑ Fokkelman, 66.
  2. ↑ Fokkelman, 66.
  3. ↑ Wilfred G.E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: a Guide to its Techniques (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 183.
  4. ↑ Wendland, 110.
  5. ↑ DeClaissé et al, Book of Psalms, 104.
  6. ↑ Wendland, 110-113.
  7. ↑ Wendland, 112.
  8. ↑ Craigie, 94.
  9. ↑ Fokkelman, 65.
  10. ↑ Elizabeth Achtemeier, "Overcoming the World: An Exposition of Psalm 6," Interpretation 28, no. 1 (January 1974): 75–88.
  11. ↑ Fokkelman, 65.
  12. ↑ Wendland, 113.
  13. ↑ Fokkelman, 65.
  14. ↑ Fokkelman, 65.
  15. ↑ Wendland, 114.
  16. ↑ Ernst Wendland, Expository Outlines of the Psalms, https://www.academia.edu/37220700/Expository_Outlines_of_the_PSALMS
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