41:3 The Lord supports 1 him on his sickbed;
you completely heal him from his illness. 2
6:2 Have mercy on me, 3 Lord, for I am frail!
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! 4
41:4 As for me, I said: 5
“O Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!
1 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive, continuing the prayer of v. 2, but the parallel line in v. 3b employs the perfect, suggesting that the psalmist is again speaking in the indicative mood (see v. 1b). The imperfect can be understood as future or as generalizing (see v. 1).
2 tn Heb “all his bed you turn in his illness.” The perfect is used here in a generalizing sense (see v. 1) or in a rhetorical manner to emphasize that the healing is as good as done.
3 tn Or “show me favor.”
4 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.
5 sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.