Psalm 6
Semantics

Lexical Semantics

A crucial element in translating words is knowing the overlap between the cultural associations of the source language and the cultural associations of the receptor language.

We represent this relationship with Venn diagrams, putting the Hebrew cultural associations in green and, in yellow, the cultural associations of the creators of this work (Standard North American English). This exercise has been so helpful we recommend translation projects consider generating their own such diagrams for all key terms in a psalm.

It is useful to know what information is shared by both cultures (in the overlap), and so will readily come across with a standard gloss, what associations will be wrongfully associated with a translation (and so need to be guarded against: in the yellow only), and what associations from the Hebrew may need to be explicitly included, because they are foreign to the local terms (in the green only).

Close-but-clear*

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For the director, with stringed instruments, on the octave. A psalm by David.

YHWH, do not correct me in your anger,

and do not discipline me in your wrath.

Have mercy on me, YHWH, for I am languishing.

Heal me, YHWH, for my bones have become

dismayed.

And my soul has become very dismayed.

And you, YHWH, how long?

Turn back from (your anger), YHWH.

Rescue my soul. Save me for the sake of your

loyalty.

For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead.

In Sheol, who praises you?

I have grown weary because of my groaning.

I drench my couch every night.

With my tears I melt my bed.

My eye has wasted away because of vexation.

It has become weak because of all my

adversaries.

Move away from me, all workers of evil.

For YHWH has heard the sound of my weeping.

YHWH has heard my supplication.

YHWH will accept my prayer.

Let all my enemies be shamed and very dismayed.

Let them turn back. Let them be shamed in a

moment.

* The "close-but-clear" is a formal-equivalent rendering of the Hebrew. It is based on the interlinear, adjusted for English word-order. It aims to be as close to the Hebrew as possible while still being clear in English.