Psalms 6:7-10

6:7 My eyes ¹  grow dim ²  from suffering;

they grow weak ³  because of all my enemies. ⁴ 

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, ⁵ 

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! ⁶ 

6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;

the Lord has accepted ⁷  my prayer.

6:10 May all my enemies be humiliated ⁸  and absolutely terrified! ⁹ 

May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!

¹ tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.

² tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

³ tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”

⁴ sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.

⁵ tn Heb “all [you] workers of wickedness.” See Ps 5:5.

⁶ sn The Lord has heard. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes because the Lord responded positively to the lament and petition of vv. 1-7 and promised him deliverance.

⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the Lord has responded favorably to the psalmist’s request.

⁸ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist concludes his prayer with an imprecation, calling judgment down on his enemies.

⁹ tn Heb “and may they be very terrified.” The psalmist uses the same expression in v. 3 to describe the terror he was experiencing. Now he asks the Lord to turn the tables and cause his enemies to know what absolute terror feels like.