Psalms

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Psalm 6

1 For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David. Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger. Do not discipline me in your raging fury. 2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking. 3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? 4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness. 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death. In Sheol who gives you thanks?⁠ 6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.⁠ 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies. 8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;⁠ the Lord has accepted my prayer.⁠ 10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified. All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 6:9 and Exegesis on the Soul 7:5

Hebrew Bible · Nag Hammadi

Summary

In Psalm 6, the psalmist says God has heard his prayer. Exegesis on the Soul, a Nag Hammadi text, quotes this psalm and uses it as assurance that God listens to everyone who repents.

Passages

Psalm 6:9

Hebrew Bible

6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies. 8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy; the Lord has accepted my prayer.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Exegesis on the Soul 7:5

Nag Hammadi

Again in the Psalms it is written: “I was greatly wearied by my groaning. I will flood my bed and my couch every night with my tears. I have grown old in the midst of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for behold, the Lord has heard the cry of my weeping, and the Lord has accepted my prayer.” If we repent, God will surely listen to us, he who is patient and richly merciful, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen! The Exegesis on the Soul

200–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Exegesis on the Soul

References

“... Certainly Israel would not have been visited in the first place, to be brought out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if it had not sighed to God and wept for the oppression of its labors. Again it is written in the Psalms (6:6-9), I was greatly troubled in my groaning. I will bathe my bed and my cover each night with my tears. I have become old in the midst of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who work at lawlessness, for behold the lord has heard the cry of my weeping and the lord has heard my prayer.” If we repent, truly God will heed us, he who is long suffering and abundantly merciful, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen. ...”

William C. Robinson Jr. and Maddalena Scopello, “The Exegesis on the Soul (II,6),” in The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson, rev. ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), 198.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Psalm 6:9 and Exegesis on the Soul 7:5

Summary

Passages

Psalm 6:9

Exegesis on the Soul 7:5

References

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