Psalm 6 Text
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The sound of my weeping
Psalm 6
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| Simple Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Simple Reading (English) |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) |
Dramatic Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| 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! |
Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Speaker | Structure | Hebrew | Verse | English | Addressee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Superscription |
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1 | For the director. With stringed instruments. According to the octave. A psalm. By David. | |||||||
David | Plea |
יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי | 2a | YHWH, do not correct me in your anger, | distressed | YHWH | ||||
| 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? | ||||||||
Death |
יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י | 7a | I have grown weary because of my groaning. | desperate | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||||
Answer |
ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן | 9a | Get away from me, all you who do evil! | confident | ||||||
| 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! | triumphant | |||||||
| יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃ | 11b | May they turn back! May they shamed in a moment! |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Expanded Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת עַֽל־הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1 | For the director. With stringed instruments, which should be tuned according to the octave tuning. A psalm. By David the king. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ֥ תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי וְֽאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥ תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃ | 2 | YHWH, you are my father and I, the king, am your son. I have sinned against you, and you have become angry, and you have begun to discipline me as a father disciplines his son. I accept your fatherly discipline, but I only ask that you discipline me in mercy. Do not correct me in your anger or I will die, and do not discipline me in your wrath! |
| חָנֵּ֥נִי יְהוָה֮ כִּ֤י אֻמְלַ֫ל אָ֥נִי רְפָאֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֖י נִבְהֲל֣וּ עֲצָמָֽי׃ | 3 | Turn from anger and have mercy on me, YHWH, for I am languishing due to the sickness which you have brought on me as discipline for my sin! Heal me, YHWH, for my bones, my emotional self, have become dismayed! My sickness has brought me near death, and the nearness of death has made be so fearful and distressed that my body has started to shake. |
| וְ֭נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָ֣ה מְאֹ֑ד וְאַתָּ֥ יְ֝הוָ֗ה עַד־מָתָֽי׃ | 4 | And my soul has become very dismayed. And you, YHWH... How long will you continue to discipline me in your anger? |
| שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה חַלְּצָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי לְמַ֣עַן חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃ | 5 | Turn back from anger, YHWH! Heal me! Rescue my life from death! Save me because of your covenant loyalty! You made a covenant with me, and you are committed to fulfilling your covenant obligations. You have said that your loyalty would never depart from my house. You said, regarding me and my descendants, "When he does wrong, I will correct him ... But my loyalty will not depart from him..." (2 Sam 7:14–15). |
| כִּ֤י אֵ֣ין בַּמָּ֣וֶת זִכְרֶ֑ךָ בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל מִ֣י יֽוֹדֶה־לָּֽךְ׃ | 6 | You should act soon, YHWH, because I am close to death. And if I die, I will not be able to praise you, for there is no commemoration of you—no mention of your name—in the world of the dead. In Sheol, the world of the dead, who can praise you? No one can! |
| יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה׃ | 7 | See how desperate my situation is. See how close to death I am. I have grown weary because of my groaning. With my tears, I drench my bed every night. I weep so much that I dissolve my couch with my tears. I am drowning in a watery chaos. It is as though I am already in Sheol, the place where you are not named. |
| עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה מִכַּ֣עַס עֵינִ֑י עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָֽי׃ | 8 | My eye, the indicator of my health, has wasted away because of my vexation. It has become weak because of all my adversaries. I am vexed because of my enemies, who have made the situation worse. They have interpreted my sickness as a sign of sin and divine rejection, and they seek to take advantage of my weak position. |
| ס֣וּרוּ מִ֭מֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֥ע יְ֝הוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בִּכְיִֽי׃ | 9 | But YHWH promised that his loyalty would not move away from me. And I know that he has heard my plea for mercy. So, convinced that YHWH is still on my side, I say, get away from me, all you who do evil by plotting against me on my sickbed! You have done evil in God's sight by opposing his anointed king. And, by opposing YHWH's anointed, you have opposed YHWH himself. Get away from me! For YHWH has not rejected me. Instead, YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping. |
| שָׁמַ֣ע יְ֭הוָה תְּחִנָּתִ֑י יְ֝הוָ֗ה תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י יִקָּֽח׃ | 10 | YHWH has heard my plea for mercy, my plea for him to turn from anger and have mercy. YHWH will accept my prayer for healing. He will heal me. This means that I will be vindicated, and it will become clear to everyone that YHWH has not rejected me as king. And, when I am vindicated, it will become clear to everyone that you have been in the wrong, that you have opposed YHWH's rightful king. YHWH, who deals justly, will punish you, and you will be exposed as evildoers and public failures. |
| יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀ וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ מְ֭אֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָ֑י יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ רָֽגַע׃ | 11 | May all my enemies be justly shamed and very dismayed,just as I was shamed and dismayed! May they turn away from me and go back to where they came! May they be shamed in a moment! |
Participant Tracking Text 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? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
There are 3 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! |