Psalm 6 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 6/Participant Analysis
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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.
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:
