Psalms 6:1-4

Psalm 6 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ²  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ³ 

6:2 Have mercy on me, ⁴  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ⁵ 

6:3 I am absolutely terrified, ⁶ 

and you, Lord – how long will this continue? ⁷ 

6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! ⁸ 

Deliver me because of your faithfulness! ⁹ 

Psalms 25:7

25:7 Do not hold against me ¹⁰  the sins of my youth ¹¹  or my rebellious acts!

Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord! ¹² 

Psalms 38:1-8

Psalm 38 ¹³ 

A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. ¹⁴ 

38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!

Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! ¹⁵ 

38:2 For your arrows pierce ¹⁶  me,

and your hand presses me down. ¹⁷ 

38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; ¹⁸ 

I am deprived of health because of my sin. ¹⁹ 

38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; ²⁰ 

like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

38:5 My wounds ²¹  are infected and starting to smell, ²² 

because of my foolish sins. ²³ 

38:6 I am dazed ²⁴  and completely humiliated; ²⁵ 

all day long I walk around mourning.

38:7 For I am overcome with shame ²⁶ 

and my whole body is sick. ²⁷ 

38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; ²⁸ 

I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. ²⁹ 

Psalms 109:21

109:21 O sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! ³⁰ 

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

Psalms 143:2

143:2 Do not sit in judgment on ³¹  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ³² 

Romans 8:1

The Believer’s Relationship to the Holy Spirit

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ³³ 

[6:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ³ sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.

[6:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you, Lord, how long?” The suffering psalmist speaks in broken syntax. He addresses God, but then simply cries out with a brief, but poignant, question: How long will this (= his suffering) continue?

[6:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:4]  ⁹ sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.

[25:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.

[25:7]  ¹¹ sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.

[25:7]  ¹² tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

[38:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.

[38:1]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).

[38:1]  ¹⁵ tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.

[38:2]  ¹⁶ tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).

[38:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).

[38:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.

[38:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”

[38:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “pass over my head.”

[38:5]  ²¹ sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.

[38:5]  ²² tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).

[38:5]  ²³ tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”

[38:6]  ²⁴ tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.”

[38:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.”

[38:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).

[38:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).

[38:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”

[38:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”

[109:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[143:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ³² tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”

[8:1]  ³³ tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D¹ Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א² D² 33^vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.