לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹת עַל הַשְּׁמִינִית מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד

For the chief musician on stringed instruments, on the eight-stringed harp, a psalm by David.

ה' אַל בְּאַפְּךָ תוֹכִיחֵנִי וְאַל בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי

Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger nor chasten me in Your displeasure. The word tokhiḥeni refers to both rebuke and physical punishment. The psalmist entreats God: Do not rebuke me by means of physical punishment; pain can sometimes be unbearable.

חָנֵּנִי ה' כִּי אֻמְלַל אָנִי; רְפָאֵנִי ה' כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי

Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am miserable; heal me, Lord, for my bones are frightened. The psalmist bases his request not on his own good deeds but rather on his inability to bear the intensity of the pain. The phrase “my bones are frightened” is almost certainly a poetic expression depicting fear and pain that have penetrated to the core.

וְנַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד וְאַתָּה ה' עַד מָתָי

For I am in great terror. More than just experiencing pain, the psalmist also fears that he will never recover from his illness, that he will die. He asks of God: And You, Lord, how long will You leave me in this dire and hopeless situation? When will I be healed?

שׁוּבָה ה' חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ

Return, Lord. Pain and suffering can be understood as signs that one has been abandoned by God. This is the reason the psalmist beseeches God to return to him. Rescue my soul. Rescue me from this state of oppression. Save me for the sake of Your kindness. The rationale behind this request, “for the sake of Your kindness,” appears frequently in the book of Psalms.

כִּי אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה לָּךְ

For in death, there is no memory of You; in the grave, who can give You thanks? The psalmist argues that it is not in God’s interest to kill him, as he is capable of acknowledging and thanking God only while he is alive.

יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי אַשְׂחֶה בְכָל לַיְלָה מִטָּתִי בְּדִמְעָתִי עַרְשִׂי אַמְסֶה

I am depleted by my groaning. Excessive groaning from pain can further sap the strength of a sick person. Alternatively, his pain is so great that it is difficult even to groan. Every night I cause my bed to swim. Because of all his weeping at night, his bed has practically become a pool of water. I melt my couch with my tears. I weep so profusely that my tears seem to dissolve my bed.

עָשְׁשָׁה מכַּעַס עֵינִי עָתְקָה בְּכָל צוֹרְרָי

The psalmist’s illness is not just his own private matter; it also arouses and encourages his enemies. He suffers both from the pain of the illness and from the awareness that his enemies are rejoicing in his misery, hoping daily for his demise. My eye is weakened by anger, pulled out because of all my foes. When I think of my adversaries celebrating my misfortune, I feel as if my eyes are falling out of their sockets. My vision has been weakened and clouded by grief. The foes in this psalm are not necessarily mortal flesh and blood; such imagery is rather an expression of the emotional state of a person who is desperately ill. He may feel that many different forces of evil are gathering against him, rejoicing in his misfortune. But when he recovers, all these dark feelings disappear. The concluding verses indicate the psalmist’s abrupt shift in mood:

סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן כִּי שָׁמַע ה' קוֹל בִּכְיִי

Leave me, all you evildoers, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping and has healed me.

שָׁמַע ה' תְּחִנָּתִי ה' תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח

The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will accept my prayer. Once He accepts my prayer, I am able to recover.

יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִבָּהֲלוּ מְאֹד כָּל אֹיְבָי יָשֻׁבוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ רָגַע

My enemies will be greatly ashamed and frightened; they will retreat, immediately be put to shame. And once I recover, my enemies will disappear; they will even feel ashamed that they had been lying in wait for me.