Psalm 6:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

NIV: Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.

NASB: Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am frail; Heal me, Lord, for my bones are horrified.

CSB: Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking;

NLT: Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

KJV: Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

NKJV: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

Feeling that chastening was about to take place, David feels physically distressed. He writes, "my bones are troubled." The Hebrew word for "troubled" can mean "weak, faint, troubled, or terrified." Whatever had come between David and the Lord had taken a heavy toll on David's strength. He felt close to death; he was languishing. This might have been a literal disease, something David might have seen as a punishment from God.

David asks the Lord to be gracious to him. The only way to escape his wretched condition is to receive what he does not deserve, namely, God's grace. It is by grace alone that the Lord saves and forgives. Sin separates the sinner from the Lord, but grace erases the sin and draws the sinner to the Lord. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23–24).

Psalm 6:1–3 begins with a mournful expression of David's grief. He asks the Lord to withdraw His hand of discipline from him, and he describes the misery he is experiencing under that discipline. David is distressed physically and spiritually. His bones ache and his soul is greatly troubled.

David begins Psalm 6 by asking the Lord to withhold discipline from him. He describes the anguish he is experiencing. His bones are in pain and his soul is troubled. It's not clear whether David is literally experiencing some illness, sorrow for his sin, danger from enemies, or some combination of all these concerns. Whatever the situation, David's health is failing and so is his confidence. And yet, he is ultimately assured that God will intervene. The psalm begins in repentance and ends in confidence.

This psalm is ascribed to David. No exact incident in David's life is identified in this passage. There seems to be a connection to a disease or other health issue. He may have written it during his old age, when his son Absalom rebelled against him (2 Samuel 15:12–14). Another possible inspiration is David's sorrow over his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 12:9). Psalm 6 is one of seven penitential psalms: songs expressing confession and repentance. The other six are Psalms 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 4/28/2024 2:10:19 PM