Psalms 6:2

6:2 Have mercy on me, ¹  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ² 

Psalms 31:9

31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!

My eyes grow dim ³  from suffering. ⁴ 

I have lost my strength. ⁵ 

Psalms 41:4

41:4 As for me, I said: ⁶ 

“O Lord, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you!

Psalms 57:1

Psalm 57 ⁷ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ⁸  a prayer ⁹  of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. ¹⁰ 

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter. ¹¹ 

In the shadow of your wings ¹²  I take shelter

until trouble passes.

[6:2]  ¹ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ² 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.

[31:9]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[31:9]  ⁴ tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.

[31:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.

[41:4]  ⁵ sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.

[57:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.

[57:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.

[57:1]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[57:1]  ¹⁰ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.

[57:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[57:1]  ¹² sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).