1 O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
3 My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?
4 Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
10 Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
1 [[To the chief Musician H5329 on Neginoth H5058 upon Sheminith, H8067 A Psalm H4210 of David.]] H1732 O LORD, H3068 rebuke H3198 me not in thine anger, H639 neither chasten H3256 me in thy hot displeasure. H2534
2 Have mercy H2603 upon me, O LORD; H3068 for I am weak: H536 O LORD, H3068 heal H7495 me; for my bones H6106 are vexed. H926
3 My soul H5315 is also sore H3966 vexed: H926 but thou, O LORD, H3068 how long?
4 Return, H7725 O LORD, H3068 deliver H2502 my soul: H5315 oh save H3467 me for thy mercies' H2617 sake.
5 For in death H4194 there is no remembrance H2143 of thee: in the grave H7585 who shall give thee thanks? H3034
6 I am weary H3021 with my groaning; H585 all the night H3915 make I my bed H4296 to swim; H7811 I water H4529 my couch H6210 with my tears. H1832
7 Mine eye H5869 is consumed H6244 because of grief; H3708 it waxeth old H6275 because of all mine enemies. H6887
8 Depart H5493 from me, all ye workers H6466 of iniquity; H205 for the LORD H3068 hath heard H8085 the voice H6963 of my weeping. H1065
9 The LORD H3068 hath heard H8085 my supplication; H8467 the LORD H3068 will receive H3947 my prayer. H8605
10 Let all mine enemies H341 be ashamed H954 and sore H3966 vexed: H926 let them return H7725 and be ashamed H954 suddenly. H7281
1 O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger, Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; for I am withered away: O Jehovah, heal me; for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is sore troubled: And thou, O Jehovah, how long?
4 Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul: Save me for thy lovingkindness' sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning; Every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; For Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 Jehovah hath heard my supplication; Jehovah will receive my prayer.
10 All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore troubled: They shall turn back, they shall be put to shame suddenly. Psalm 7 Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto Jehova, concerning the words of Cush a Benjamite.
1 To the Overseer with stringed instruments, on the octave. -- A Psalm of David. O Jehovah, in Thine anger reprove me not, Nor in Thy fury chastise me.
2 Favour me, O Jehovah, for I `am' weak, Heal me, O Jehovah, For troubled have been my bones,
3 And my soul hath been troubled greatly, And Thou, O Jehovah, till when?
4 Turn back, O Jehovah, draw out my soul, Save me for Thy kindness' sake.
5 For there is not in death Thy memorial, In Sheol, who doth give thanks to Thee?
6 I have been weary with my sighing, I meditate through all the night `on' my bed, With my tear my couch I waste.
7 Old from provocation is mine eye, It is old because of all mine adversaries,
8 Turn from me all ye workers of iniquity, For Jehovah heard the voice of my weeping,
9 Jehovah hath heard my supplication, Jehovah my prayer receiveth.
10 Ashamed and troubled greatly are all mine enemies, They turn back -- ashamed `in' a moment!
1 {To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments, upon Sheminith. A Psalm of David.} Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger, and chasten me not in thy hot displeasure.
2 Be gracious unto me, Jehovah, for I am withered; Jehovah, heal me, for my bones tremble.
3 And my soul trembleth exceedingly: and thou, Jehovah, till how long?
4 Return, Jehovah, free my soul; save me for thy loving-kindness' sake.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who shall give thanks unto thee?
6 I am wearied with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 Mine eye wasteth away through grief; it hath grown old because of all mine oppressors.
8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 Jehovah hath heard my supplication; Jehovah receiveth my prayer.
10 All mine enemies shall be ashamed and tremble exceedingly; they will turn, they will be ashamed suddenly.
1 > Yahweh, don't rebuke me in your anger, Neither discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint. Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul is also in great anguish. But you, Yahweh--how long?
4 Return, Yahweh. Deliver my soul, And save me for your loving kindness' sake.
5 For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?
6 I am weary with my groaning; Every night I flood my bed; I drench my couch with my tears.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my adversaries.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, For Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 Yahweh has heard my supplication. Yahweh accepts my prayer.
10 May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed. They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.
1 <To the chief music-maker on corded instruments, on the Sheminith. A Psalm. Of David.> O Lord, do not be bitter with me in your wrath; do not send punishment on me in the heat of your passion.
2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am wasted away: make me well, for even my bones are troubled.
3 My soul is in bitter trouble; and you, O Lord, how long?
4 Come back, O Lord, make my soul free; O give me salvation because of your mercy.
5 For in death there is no memory of you; in the underworld who will give you praise?
6 The voice of my sorrow is a weariness to me; all the night I make my bed wet with weeping; it is watered by the drops flowing from my eyes.
7 My eyes are wasting away with trouble; they are becoming old because of all those who are against me.
8 Go from me, all you workers of evil; for the Lord has given ear to the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has given ear to my request; the Lord has let my prayer come before him.
10 Let all those who are against me be shamed and deeply troubled; let them be turned back and suddenly put to shame.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 6
Commentary on Psalms 6 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
A Cry for Mercy under Judgement
The morning prayer, Psalms 5:1-12, is followed by a “Psalm of David,” which, even if not composed in the morning, looks back upon a sleepless, tearful night. It consists of three strophes. In the middle one, which is a third longer than the other two, the poet, by means of a calmer outpouring of his heart, struggles on from the cry of distress in the first strophe to the believing confidence of the last. The hostility of men seems to him as a punishment of divine wrath, and consequently (but this is not so clearly expressed as in Ps 38, which is its counterpart) as the result of his sin; and this persecution, which to him has God's wrath behind it and sin as the sting of its bitterness, makes him sorrowful and sick even unto death. Because the Psalm contains no confession of sin, one might be inclined to think that the church has wrongly reckoned it as the first of the seven (probably selected with reference to the seven days of the week) Psalmi paenitentiales (Psalms 6:1, Psalms 32:1, Psalms 38:1, Psalms 51:1, Psalms 102:1, Psalms 130:1, Psalms 143:1). A. H. Francke in his Introductio in Psalterium says, it is rather Psalmus precatorius hominis gravissimi tentati a paenitente probe distinguendi . But this is a mistake. The man who is tempted is distinguished from a penitent man by this, that the feeling of wrath is with the one perfectly groundless and with the other well-grounded. Job was one who was tempted thus. Our psalmist, however, is a penitent, who accordingly seeks that the punitive chastisement of God, as the just God, may for him be changed into the loving chastisement of God, as the merciful One.
We recognise here the language of penitently believing prayer, which has been coined by David. Compare Psalms 6:2 with Psalms 38:2; Psalms 6:3 with Psalms 41:5; Psalms 6:5 with Psalms 109:26; Psalms 6:6 with Psalms 30:10; Psalms 6:7 with Psalms 69:4; Psalms 6:8 with Psalms 31:10; Psalms 6:10 with Psalms 35:4, Psalms 35:26. The language of Heman's Psalm is perceptibly different, comp. Psalms 6:6 with Psalms 88:11-13; Psalms 6:8 with Psalms 88:10. And the corresponding strains in Jeremiah (comp. Psalms 6:2, Psalms 38:2 with Jeremiah 10:24; Psalms 6:3 and Psalms 6:5 with Jeremiah 17:14; Psalms 6:7 with Jeremiah 45:3) are echoes, which to us prove that the Psalm belongs to an earlier age, not that it was composed by the prophet (Hitzig). It is at once probable, from the almost anthological relationship in which Jeremiah stands to the earlier literature, that in the present instance also he is the reproducer. And this idea is confirmed by the fact that in Jeremiah 10:25, after language resembling the Psalm before us, he continues in words taken from Psalms 79:6. When Hitzig maintains that David could no more have composed this disconcertedly despondent Psalm than Isaiah could the words in Isaiah 21:3-4, we refer, in answer to him, to Isaiah 22:4 and to the many attestations that David did weep, 2 Samuel 1:12; 2 Samuel 3:32; 2 Samuel 12:21; 2 Samuel 15:30; 2 Samuel 19:1.
The accompanying musical direction runs: To the Precentor, with accompaniment of stringed instruments, upon the Octave. The lxx translates ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης , and the Fathers associate with it the thought of the octave of eternal happiness, ἡ ὀγδόη ἐκείνη , as Gregory of Nyssa says, ἥτίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐφεξῆς αἰών . But there is no doubt whatever that על־השּׁמינית has reference to music. It is also found by Psalms 12:1-8, and besides in 1 Chronicles 15:21. From this latter passage it is at least clear that it is not the name of an instrument. An instrument with eight strings could not have been called an octave instead of an octachord . In that passage they played upon nablas על־עלמות , and with citherns על־השּׁמינית . If עלמות denotes maidens = maidens' voices i.e., soprano , then, as it seems, השּׁמינית is a designation of the bass, and על־השׁמינית equivalent to all' ottava bassa . The fact that Psalms 46:1-11, which is accompanied by the direction על־עלמות , is a joyous song, whereas Psalms 6:1-10 is a plaintive one and Psalms 12:1-8 not less gloomy and sad, accords with this. These two were to be played in the lower octave, that one in the higher.
(Heb.: 6:2-4) There is a chastisement which proceeds from God's love to the man as being pardoned and which is designed to purify or to prove him, and a chastisement which proceeds from God's wrath against the man as striving obstinately against, or as fallen away from, favour, and which satisfies divine justice. Psalms 94:12; Psalms 118:17; Proverbs 3:11. speak of this loving chastisement. The man who should decline it, would act against his own salvation. Accordingly David, like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:24), does not pray for the removal of the chastisement but of the chastisement in wrath, or what is the same thing, of the judgment proceeding from wrath [ Zorngericht ]. בּאפּך and בּחמתך stand in the middle, between אל and the verbs, for the sake of emphasis. Hengstenberg indeed finds a different antithesis here. He says: “The contrast is not that of chastisement in love with chastisement in wrath , but that of loving rescue in contrast with chastisement, which always proceeds from the principle of wrath.” If what is here meant is, that always when God chastens a man his wrath is the true and proper motive, it is an error, for the refutation of which one whole book of the Bible, viz., the Book of Job, has been written. For there the friends think that God is angry with Job; but we know from the prologue that, so far from being angry with him, he on the contrary glories in him. Here, in this Psalm, assuming David to be its author, and his adultery the occasion of it, it is certainly quite otherwise. The chastisement under which David is brought low, has God's wrath as its motive: it is punitive chastisement and remains such, so long as David remains fallen from favour. But if in sincere penitence he again struggles through to favour, then the punitive becomes a loving chastisement: God's relationship to him becomes an essentially different relationship. The evil, which is the result of his sin and as such indeed originates in the principle of wrath, becomes the means of discipline and purifying which love employs, and this it is that he here implores for himself. And thus Dante Alighieri
(Note: Provided he is the author of I sêtte Salmi Penitenziali trasportati alla volgar poesia, vid., Dante Alighieri's Lyric poems, translated and annotated by Kannegiesser and Witte (1842) i. 203f., ii. 208f.)
correctly and beautifully paraphrases the verse:
Signor, non mi riprender con furore,
E non voler correggermi con ira,
Ma con dolcezza e con perfetto amore