Discovery BoxPsalms 6:1 
ContextFor 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 38:1
ContextA psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. 5
38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! 6
Psalms 131:1
ContextA song of ascents, 8 by David.
131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look. 9
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me. 10
Psalms 137:6
Context137:6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy. 11
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 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.
5 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
6 tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.
sn Compare Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording.
7 sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.
8 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
9 tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”
10 tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”
11 tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”
