Psalms 6:3

6:3 I am absolutely terrified, 1 

and you, Lord – how long will this continue? 2 

Psalms 6:9

6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;

the Lord has accepted 3  my prayer.

1 tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

2 tn Heb “and you, Lord, how long?” The suffering psalmist speaks in broken syntax. He addresses God, but then simply cries out with a brief, but poignant, question: How long will this (= his suffering) continue?

3 tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the Lord has responded favorably to the psalmist’s request.