Psalm 6

Psalm 6 is the sixth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure". In Latin, it is known as "Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me".[1] This penitential psalm is traditionally attributed to David.

Psalm 6
"O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger"
Penitential Psalm
Psalm 6 in an illumination from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier (by Jean Fouquet, c. 1450).[lower-alpha 1]
Other name"Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me"
Textattributed to David
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 6
← Psalm 5
Psalm 7 →
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It was paraphrased to a metred hymn in German, "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" by Johann Georg Albinus, which Catherine Winkworth translated into "Not in anger, Mighty God". The psalm has been set to music by composers such as Heinrich Schütz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger, Jules Van Nuffel and Norma Wendelburg.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

The following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 6: [2]

Verse Hebrew
1 .לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹת, עַל-הַשְּׁמִינִית; מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד
2 .יְהוָה, אַל-בְּאַפְּךָ תוֹכִיחֵנִי; וְאַל-בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי
3 .חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה, כִּי אֻמְלַל-אָנִי: רְפָאֵנִי יְהוָה--כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי
4 .וְנַפְשִׁי, נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד; ואת (וְאַתָּה) יְהוָה, עַד-מָתָי
5 .שׁוּבָה יְהוָה, חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי; הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
6 .כִּי אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ; בִּשְׁאוֹל, מִי יוֹדֶה-לָּךְ
7 .יָגַעְתִּי, בְּאַנְחָתִי--אַשְׂחֶה בְכָל-לַיְלָה, מִטָּתִי; בְּדִמְעָתִי, עַרְשִׂי אַמְסֶה
8 .עָשְׁשָׁה מִכַּעַס עֵינִי; עָתְקָה, בְּכָל-צוֹרְרָי
9 .סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי, כָּל-פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן: כִּי-שָׁמַע יְהוָה, קוֹל בִּכְיִי
10 .שָׁמַע יְהוָה, תְּחִנָּתִי; יְהוָה, תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח
11 .יֵבֹשׁוּ, וְיִבָּהֲלוּ מְאֹד--כָּל-אֹיְבָי; יָשֻׁבוּ, יֵבֹשׁוּ רָגַע

King James Version
  1. O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
  2. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
  3. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?
  4. Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.
  5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
  6. I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
  7. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
  8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
  9. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.
  10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

Translations

Several significant translations can be identified from the early modern period. In 1532, Marguerite de Navarre, a woman of French nobility, included the sixth psalm of David in the new editions of the popular Miroir de l’âme pécheresse ("The Mirror of a Sinful Soul").[3] The psalm would also be later translated by the future Elizabeth I of England in 1544, when Elizabeth was eleven years old.[4] Many feel that the penitential Psalm had a reformation orientation to the readers of the day.

Themes

Psalm 6 is supposed to have been written to serve as a prayer for anyone suffering from sickness or distress or for the state of the Kingdom of Israel while suffering through oppression.[5]

The Geneva Bible (1599) gives the following summary:

When David by his sins had provoked God’s wrath, and now felt not only his hand against him, but also conceived the horrors of death everlasting, he desireth forgiveness. 6 Bewailing that if God took him away in his indignation, he should lack occasion to praise him as he was wont to do while he was among men. 9 Then suddenly feeling God’s mercy, he sharply rebuketh his enemies which rejoiced in his affliction.[6]

The psalm is the first of the seven Penitential Psalms, as identified by Cassiodorus in a commentary of the 6th century AD. Many translations have been made of these psalms, and musical settings have been made by many composers. From Augustine's Enarrationes [7] until Eduard König and the advent of the form-critical method in the early 20th century, this was considered one of the penitential psalms.[8] Since then, Hermann Gunkel has classed it as one of the Individual Lamentations,[9] as one of the"Sick Psalms". German scholar Antonius Kuckhoff considers this psalm to be the "paradigmatic example" of the supplication form in the psalms.[10]

For Martin Luther, the 6th Psalm was very important. It illustrated various central points of his theology.

Psalm 6 is in three parts, distinguished by the person:

  1. First, the psalmist addresses God and
  2. then he speaks for himself, and
  3. finally he speaks to his enemies.

The psalmist expresses his distress in parts 1 and 2 and uses a rich palette of words to describe this distress: "powerless", "bone shaking" (verse 2), "extreme distress". He even expresses his distress by the excessiveness of "a bed wet with tears",[11] and an "eye consumed because of grief".[12]

In stating the enemies of the Psalmist, we understand that this distress is caused by relational problem. But it is unclear if he is innocent. However, he says he will be reinstated and that his opponents will be confounded. Trouble seems primarily psychological, but is also expressed through the body. It is as much the body as the soul of the psalmist cries out to God. In fact, it is also touched in his spiritual being, faced with the abandonment of God. In the absence of God emerges the final hope of the Psalmist, expressed confidence cry in the last three verses.

Heading

The Psalm header can be interpreted in different ways:[13]

  • As an indication for the conductor
  • for the musical performance (stringed instruments)
  • eschatological in view of the end times (which lowers the potentially incorrect translation of the Septuagint close)

Uses

New Testament

Some verses of Psalm 6 are referenced in the New Testament:

In the Psalms almost all lament Psalms end with an upturn and here the upturn is a statement of confidence in being heard. Psalm 6:8–10.[14] The sorrowful prayer models lamenting with an attitude of being heard, as seen in Hebrews 5:7.[14]

Catholicism

According to the Rule of St. Benedict (530 AD), Psalm 1 to Psalm 20 were mainly reserved for the office of Prime. According to the Rule of St. Benedict, (530) it was used on Monday, in the Prime after Psalm 1 and Psalm 25. In the Liturgy of the Hours as well, Psalm 6 is recited or sung to the Office of Readings for Monday of the first week.[15]

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the first day of the month,[16] as well as at Mattins on Ash Wednesday.[17]

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Music

Heinrich Schütz set two different metred hymns paraphrasing Psalm 6, "Ach, Herr, straf mich nicht", SWV 24, included in his Psalmen Davids, Op. 2 (1619),[19] and "Ach Herr mein Gott, straf mich doch nicht", SWV 102, as part of his Becker Psalter settings, Op. 5 (1628).[20] "Herr, straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn / Das bitt ich dich von Herzen" (not to be confused with "Herr, straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn / Lass mich dein Grimm verzehren nicht", a paraphrase of Psalm 38)[21][22] is a German paraphrase of Psalm 6, set by, among others, Johann Crüger (1640, Zahn No. 4606a).[23] Settings based on Crüger's hymn tune were included in the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch, and composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 338).[24][25][26]

Psalm 6 also formed the basis of the metred hymn "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" (Do not punish me in your anger) by Johann Georg Albinus (1686, excerpt; EKG 176),[27][28] which Catherine Winkworth translated into "Not in anger, Mighty God".[29] The French composer Henry Desmarets used the psalm "Domine ne in furore" (1713) in the work Grands Motets Lorrains.[30]

Max Reger composed a chorale fantasia for organ, on of his two Zwei Choralphantasien, Op. 40, in 1899, as his Op. 40. Jules Van Nuffel set the psalm in Latin in 1935 as his Op. 44. Alan Hovhaness set verses 1-4 in his opus 28 O Lord, Rebuke Me Not.[31] In 1973, Norma Wendelburg wrote a setting in English, "My Lord, Chastise Me Not in Anger", for mixed chorus and optional organ.

Psalm 6 in medieval illumination

The psalm was frequently chosen for illumination in medieval Books of Hours, to open the section containing the penitential psalms.

Notes
  1. David, in armour, kneels in penitence before God encircled by cherubim, while in the foreground lies a corpse, with devils torturing souls. Below, in gold capitals on a blue ground, are the opening words of Psalm 6: Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me neque in ira tua corripias me – "Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chastise me in thy wrath."

References
  1. "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 6". Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. "Psalms Chapter 6 תְּהִלִּים". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  3. Poetry Foundation, Marguerite de Navarre
  4. "Bodleian - Marks of Genius". Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. The Artscroll Tehillim page 8
  6. Psalm 6: Geneva Bible
  7. Beispielsweise von Gregor der Große, In septem Psalmos Paenitentialis; Alkuin, Expositio in Psalmos Poenitentialis; Cassiodor, Expositio in Psalmorum; Martin Luther, Dictata super Psalterium und Operationes in Psalmos.
  8. Antonius Kuckhoff, Psalm 6 und die Bitten im Psalter: ein paradigmatisches Bitt- und Klagegebet im Horizont des Gesamtpsalters. (Göttingen, 2011), p14
  9. Hermann Gunkel: Die Psalmen. 6. Auflage. (Göttingen 1986), p21.
  10. Nowell, I., Reviewed Work: Psalm 6 und die Bitten im Psalter: Ein paradigmatisches Bin- und Klagegebet im Horizont des Gesamtpsalters (BBB 160) by Antonius Kuckhoff, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, July 2013, Vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 553-555, accessed 17 September 2021
  11. Psalm 6:6: New Century Version
  12. Psalm 6:7: King James Version
  13. Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, reprinted 2007, p46.
  14. Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 838. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  15. The main cycle of liturgical prayers takes place over four weeks.
  16. Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, p. 199
  17. "The Book of Common Prayer: Proper Psalms On Certain Days" (PDF). The Church of England. p. 6. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  18. "Torah of Yeshuah: Book of Meqabyan I – III".
  19. Psalmen Davids sampt etlichen Moteten und Concerten, Op.2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  20. Becker Psalter, Op. 5, by Heinrich Schütz: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  21. Cornelius Becker (1602). Der Psalter Dauids Gesangweis, "Der XXXVIII. Psalm"
  22. Scores of Herr straf mich nicht in Deinem Zorn, SWV 135, by Heinrich Schütz in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
  23. Zahn, Johannes (1890). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (in German). Vol. III. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann. pp. 131–132.
  24. Gottfried Vopelius (1682). Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch, pp. 648–651.
  25. "Herr, straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn BWV 338". Bach Digital. Leipzig: Bach Archive; et al. 11 March 2019.
  26. BWV 338 at Luke Dahn's www.bach-chorales.com website.
  27. "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn". colmarisches.free.fr. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  28. "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn". hymnary.org. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  29. "Not in anger, Mighty God". hymnary.org. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  30. Domine ne in furore (Desmarets, Henri): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  31. "Alan Hovhaness List of Works by Opus Number". www.hovhaness.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
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