Psalms 6:1

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 

Psalms 55:1

Psalm 55 4 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song 5  by David.

55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore 6  my appeal for mercy!

Psalms 67:1

Psalm 67 7 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67:1 May God show us his favor 8  and bless us! 9 

May he smile on us! 10  (Selah)

Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising 11  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! 12 

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.

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.

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).

4 sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

6 tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

7 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.

8 tn Or “have mercy on us.”

9 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.

10 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”

11 tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

12 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.