Psalms 6:8-10

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, 1 

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! 2 

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

the Lord has accepted 3  my prayer.

6:10 May all my enemies be humiliated 4  and absolutely terrified! 5 

May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!

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

2 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.

3 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.

4 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.

5 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.