The Meaning of Psalms 6:6 Explained

Psalms 6:6

KJV: I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

YLT: I have been weary with my sighing, I meditate through all the night on my bed, With my tear my couch I waste.

Darby: I am wearied with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I dissolve my couch with my tears.

ASV: I am weary with my groaning; Every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I am weary  with my groaning;  all the night  make I my bed  to swim;  I water  my couch  with my tears. 

What does Psalms 6:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 6:1-10 - Deliverance In Trouble
This is the first of the Penitential Psalms, the other six being Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 38:1-22; Psalms 51:1-19; Psalms 102:1-28; Psalms 130:1-8; Psalms 143:1-12. The earliest verses are a wail, but the psalm ends in a song. It is like a day of rain which clears at evening. Sheminith is a musical term signifying "octave."
The elements of the psalmist's sorrow are given in Psalms 6:1-7. The pressure of God's displeasure, soul-anguish, sickness, soul-depression, an enemy's opposition-all these were ingredients in his cup of bitterness. How touching the plea-I am weak! How expressive the broken sentence, so often on Calvin's lips-How long! And that prayer, O Lord, heal me, includes the mental as well as the physical.
The certainty of deliverance looms in sight in Psalms 6:8-10. The consciousness of having been heard steals over the soul as a glint of light in the hospital ward. The answer may not be at hand, but it is sure, 1 John 5:15. Weeping has a voice: God interprets sighs. The r.v. turns the imprecation of Psalms 6:10 into prediction. When God returns to us, because we return to Him, our enemies turn back. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 6

1  David's complaint in his sickness
8  He triumphs over his enemies

What do the individual words in Psalms 6:6 mean?

I am weary with my sighing I make swim all night my bed with my tears my couch I drench
יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀ בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י אַשְׂחֶ֣ה בְכָל־ לַ֭יְלָה מִטָּתִ֑י בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י עַרְשִׂ֥י אַמְסֶֽה

יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀  I  am  weary 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָגַע  
Sense: to toil, labour, grow weary, be weary.
בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י  with  my  sighing 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אֲנָחָה  
Sense: sighing, groaning (expression of grief or physical distress).
אַשְׂחֶ֣ה  I  make  swim 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׂחָה  
Sense: to swim.
לַ֭יְלָה  night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
מִטָּתִ֑י  my  bed 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מִטָּה  
Sense: couch, bed, bier.
בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י  with  my  tears 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: דִּמְעָה  
Sense: tears.
עַרְשִׂ֥י  my  couch 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עֶרֶשׂ  
Sense: couch, divan, bed.
אַמְסֶֽה  I  drench 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: מָסָה  
Sense: to melt, dissolve, be liquefied.