Psalm 6 → 145
Reasoning: 11392 Output: 5288 Total: 16680
Argument
Short thesis: If you read Psalm 145 immediately after Psalm 6, Psalm 145 works as the theological and liturgical “answer” to Psalm 6’s crisis. The lament’s pleas, questions, and vows are resolved and universalized in the hymn of praise. The linkage can be argued on lexical grounds (shared roots and even matching forms), thematic reversals, form-critical sequence (lament → deliverance → praise), and Israelite liturgical practice. Stronger lexical links (identical roots and often comparable forms) - Anger: אֲף - Ps 6:2 “באַפְּךָ … בַּחֲמָתְךָ” (in your anger/wrath) - Ps 145:8 “אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם” (slow to anger) - Same root אַף; 145 directly answers 6’s fear of divine anger. - Grace: חנן - Ps 6:3 “חָנֵּנִי” (be gracious to me) - Ps 145:8 “חַנּוּן יְהוָה” (YHWH is gracious) - Same root; 145 states as creed what 6 requests in crisis. - Loyal love: חסד - Ps 6:5 “לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ” (for the sake of your hesed) - Ps 145:8 “וּגְדָל־חָסֶד” (great in hesed), 145:10,17 “חֲסִידֶיךָ … חָסִיד” - Same root; 145 multiplies and universalizes the attribute invoked in 6. - Save: ישׁע - Ps 6:5 “הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי” (save me) - Ps 145:19 “וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם” (He will save them) - Same root; identical Hiphil sense, personal plea becomes communal promise. - Hear: שמע - Ps 6:9–10 “שָׁמַע יְהוָה קוֹל בִּכְיִי … תְּחִנָּתִי … תְּפִלָּתִי” - Ps 145:19 “שַׁוְעָתָם יִשְׁמַע” (He hears their cry) - Same root; 145 generalizes 6’s triple “He has heard me” to all who cry. - Remembrance/thanksgiving: זכר + ידה - Ps 6:6 “אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ … מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ” (no remembrance in death; who will thank you?) - Ps 145:7 “זֵכֶר רַב־טוּבְךָ יַבִּיעוּ” (the memory of your great goodness), 145:10 “יוֹד֣וּךָ … כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ” (all your works will thank you) - Identical roots and even matching Hiphil “יודוּךָ/יודה־לך”; 145 supplies the thanks and memorial 6 says would be lost. - Eyes: עין - Ps 6:8 “עָשְׁשָׁה … עֵינִי” (my eye wastes away) - Ps 145:15 “עֵינֵי־כֹל אֵלֶיךָ יְשַׂבֵּרוּ” (the eyes of all look to you) - Same noun; the failing individual eye of 6 becomes the hopeful eyes of all in 145. Thematic reversals and resolutions (idea-for-idea answers) - From anger to compassion: 6 fears rebuke “in anger/wrath”; 145 asserts the creed from Exod 34:6: “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, great in loyal love.” - From “How long?” to “Near to all who call”: 6:4 “וְאַתָּה יְהוָה עַד־מָתַי”; 145:18 “קָרוֹב יְהוָה לְכָל־קֹרְאָיו … בֶאֱמֶת.” The temporal distance felt in 6 is answered by divine nearness in 145. - From threatened death to unending praise: 6:6 “in death no remembrance … who will thank you?”; 145 opens and closes with vows of perpetual praise (“בְכָל־יוֹם … לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד”), culminating in “וִיבָרֵךְ כָּל־בָּשָׂר … לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.” - From weakness to God’s upholding: 6’s broken bones, shaken soul, tears in the night → 145:14 “סוֹמֵךְ … לְכָל־הַנֹּפְלִים” and “זוֹקֵף … לְכָל־הַכְּפוּפִים” (He supports the fallen and raises the bowed). - From private weeping to heard cries: 6:7–10 “my groaning/tears … YHWH has heard” → 145:18–19 God hears and saves all who cry in truth. - From enemies present to the wicked’s end: 6:9–11 “ס֣וּרוּ … כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן … יֵבֹשׁוּ … יָשֻׁבוּ” → 145:20 “וְאֵת כָּל־הָרְשָׁעִים יַשְׁמִיד.” The separation demanded in 6 becomes God’s final judgment in 145. - From night and moment to day and forever: 6’s “לַיְלָה” and “רֶגַע” → 145’s “בְכָל־יוֹם” and repeated “לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד,” “דּוֹר וָדוֹר.” Form-critical and life-setting coherence - Common sequence in Israelite piety: crisis (lament) → petition invoking hesed → assurance of being heard → vow of praise → public thanksgiving. Psalm 6 clearly contains the petition and implicit vow (“if I die, there will be no praise”), while Psalm 145 is precisely the public “tehillah” that pays that vow, now widened from the individual to “all flesh.” - The appeal to God’s character in 6 (“for the sake of your hesed”) is met by the explicit recital of that character in 145 (the Exod 34:6 formula). In ancient Israel, declaring God’s name/attributes was itself an act of thanksgiving; 145 performs that. - Liturgical plausibility: after healing or deliverance (6), the worshiper would bring a thank offering and hymn. 145, with its acrostic “A-to-Tav” completeness and its “every day I will bless you,” reads like the sustained, communal hymn that follows recovery. Stylistic and rhetorical continuities - Dense second-person address with -ךָ suffixes: 6 (אַפְּךָ, חֲמָתְךָ, חַסְדֶּךָ, זִכְרֶךָ) and 145 (שִׁמְךָ, מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, גְּבוּרֹתֶךָ, גְּדוּלָּתְךָ, צִדְקָתְךָ, מַלְכוּתְךָ) keep the same directness of address, now extended to catechize the community. - Anaphoric “יְהוָה …” cola in both psalms (6:9–10; 145:8–9,14,17–21) create an echo of assurance: “YHWH has heard … YHWH is near … YHWH supports … YHWH saves … YHWH guards.” “Rare is heavier” highlights - The pair זִכְרֶךָ / זֵכֶר (6:6; 145:7) plus יודה/יוֹד֣וּךָ (6:6; 145:10) is especially probative: same roots, same praise semantics, and even the same pronominal orientation toward God. 145 supplies precisely the “remembrance/thanksgiving” 6 says death would preclude. - The anger vocabulary link (באַפְּךָ ⇄ אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם) is pointed, because אַף is not merely general “wrath” language; 145 overtly reframes it by invoking the creed of divine patience. - The salvation verb ישׁע in matched stems (הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי ⇄ יוֹשִׁיעֵם) strengthens the case that 145 universalizes 6’s requested act into God’s settled pattern. Canonical and theological fit - Across the Psalter there is a macro-movement from many laments (Book I, where Psalm 6 sits) to a crescendo of praise (Pss 145–150). Reading 145 after 6 telescopes that canonical arc into a two-psalm sequence: distress → doxology. - 145’s acrostic “totalizes” praise (“A–Tav”), fittingly following the fragmentary, broken speech of 6’s lament into ordered, comprehensive praise. Upshot - On shared roots and even identical forms (חנן; אַף; ישׁע; זכר; ידה; שמע), on tightly matched motifs (hearing, saving, remembrance/thanks, enemies vs. wicked), and on form-critical and liturgical logic (lament with vow → public thanksgiving), Psalm 145 reads like the intended fulfillment and expansion of Psalm 6. In other words: 145 is what 6 hoped for—God’s gracious nearness, heard prayer, salvation—and it turns that private deliverance into perpetual, universal praise.
Evaluation
Score: 6.0
Evaluated at: 2025-11-22T04:17:15 (UTC)
Evaluator model: gpt-5
Evaluator version: v2
Reasoning: 4352 Output: 6121 Total: 10473
Checklist
- Has verse refs: Yes
- Factual error detected: No
- Only generic motifs: No
- Counterargument considered: No
- LXX/MT numbering acknowledged: No
Vocabulary specificity: 3.0 / 10
Multiple accurate, verse-anchored links (חנן, אַף, זכר/ידה, ישע, שמע) and coherent lament→praise rationale. But lexemes are common across Psalms, some links are generic (עין), and the sequence is non-adjacent—limits probative force.
Prompt
Consider Psalm 6 and Psalm 145 (reproduced below). What arguments could you make to justify that Psalm 145 logically follows on from Psalm 6? Consider stylistic similarities, similarities of form, similarities of vocab or ideas, shared roots (if you're doing the search in Hebrew), connections to sequences of events common in ancient Israelite life, mythology or history shared by the two psalms.
Rarer words are more significant than commoner words. Identical forms are more significant than similar forms. The same word class is more significant than different word classes formed from the same root. Identical roots are more significant than suppletive roots.
Psalm 6:
Psalm 6
1. לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ
בִּ֭נְגִינוֹת
עַֽל־
הַשְּׁמִינִ֗ית
מִזְמ֥וֹר
לְדָוִֽד׃
2. יְֽהוָ֗ה
אַל־
בְּאַפְּךָ֥
תוֹכִיחֵ֑נִי
וְֽאַל־
בַּחֲמָתְךָ֥
תְיַסְּרֵֽנִי׃
3. חָנֵּ֥נִי
יְהוָה֮
כִּ֤י
אֻמְלַ֫ל
אָ֥נִי
רְפָאֵ֥נִי
יְהוָ֑ה
כִּ֖י
נִבְהֲל֣וּ
עֲצָֽtמָי׃
4. וְ֭נַפְשִׁי
נִבְהֲלָ֣ה
מְאֹ֑ד
ואת
וְאַתָּ֥ה
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
עַד־
מָתָֽי׃
5. שׁוּבָ֣ה
יְ֭הוָה
חַלְּצָ֣ה
נַפְשִׁ֑י
ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי
לְמַ֣עַן
חַסְדֶּֽךָ׃
6. כִּ֤י
אֵ֣ין
בַּמָּ֣וֶת
זִכְרֶ֑ךָ
בִּ֝שְׁא֗וֹל
מִ֣י
יֽוֹדֶה־
לָּֽךְ׃
7. יָגַ֤עְתִּי ׀
בְּֽאַנְחָתִ֗י
אַשְׂחֶ֣ה
בְכָל־
לַ֭יְלָה
מִטָּתִ֑י
בְּ֝דִמְעָתִ֗י
עַרְשִׂ֥י
אַמְסֶֽה׃
8. עָֽשְׁשָׁ֣ה
מִכַּ֣עַס
עֵינִ֑י
עָֽ֝תְקָ֗ה
בְּכָל־
צוֹרְרָֽי׃
9. ס֣וּרוּ
מִ֭מֶּנִּי
כָּל־
פֹּ֣עֲלֵי
אָ֑וֶן
כִּֽי־
שָׁמַ֥ע
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
ק֣וֹל
בִּכְיִֽי׃
10. שָׁמַ֣ע
יְ֭הוָה
תְּחִנָּתִ֑י
יְ֝הוָ֗ה
תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥י
יִקָּֽח׃
11. יֵבֹ֤שׁוּ ׀
וְיִבָּהֲל֣וּ
מְ֭אֹד
כָּל־
אֹיְבָ֑י
יָ֝שֻׁ֗בוּ
יֵבֹ֥שׁוּ
רָֽגַע׃
Psalm 145:
Psalm 145
1. תְּהִלָּ֗ה
לְדָ֫וִ֥ד
אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣
אֱלוֹהַ֣י
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ
וַאֲבָרֲכָ֥ה
שִׁ֝מְךָ֗
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
וָעֶֽד׃
2. בְּכָל־
י֥וֹם
אֲבָרֲכֶ֑ךָּ
וַאֲהַלְלָ֥ה
שִׁ֝מְךָ֗
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
וָעֶֽד׃
3. גָּ֘ד֤וֹל
יְהוָ֣ה
וּמְהֻלָּ֣ל
מְאֹ֑ד
וְ֝לִגְדֻלָּת֗וֹ
אֵ֣ין
חֵֽקֶר׃
4. דּ֣וֹר
לְ֭דוֹר
יְשַׁבַּ֣ח
מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ
וּגְב֖וּרֹתֶ֣יךָ
יַגִּֽידוּ׃
5. הֲ֭דַר
כְּב֣וֹד
הוֹדֶ֑ךָ
וְדִבְרֵ֖י
נִפְלְאוֹתֶ֣יךָ
אָשִֽׂיחָה׃
6. וֶעֱז֣וּז
נוֹרְאֹתֶ֣יךָ
יֹאמֵ֑רוּ
וגדולתיך
וּגְדוּלָּתְךָ֥
אֲסַפְּרֶֽנָּה׃
7. זֵ֣כֶר
רַב־
טוּבְךָ֣
יַבִּ֑יעוּ
וְצִדְקָתְךָ֥
יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃
8. חַנּ֣וּן
וְרַח֣וּם
יְהוָ֑ה
אֶ֥רֶךְ
אַ֝פַּ֗יִם
וּגְדָל־
חָֽסֶד׃
9. טוֹב־
יְהוָ֥ה
לַכֹּ֑ל
וְ֝רַחֲמָ֗יו
עַל־
כָּל־
מַעֲשָֽׂיו׃
10. יוֹד֣וּךָ
יְ֭הוָה
כָּל־
מַעֲשֶׂ֑יךָ
וַ֝חֲסִידֶ֗יךָ
יְבָרֲכֽוּכָה׃
11. כְּב֣וֹד
מַלְכוּתְךָ֣
יֹאמֵ֑רוּ
וּגְבוּרָתְךָ֥
יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃
12. לְהוֹדִ֤יעַ ׀
לִבְנֵ֣י
הָ֭אָדָם
גְּבוּרֹתָ֑יו
וּ֝כְב֗וֹד
הֲדַ֣ר
מַלְכוּתֽוֹ׃
13. מַֽלְכוּתְךָ֗
מַלְכ֥וּת
כָּל־
עֹֽלָמִ֑ים
וּ֝מֶֽמְשֶׁלְתְּךָ֗
בְּכָל־
דּ֥וֹר
וָדֽוֹר׃
14. סוֹמֵ֣ךְ
יְ֭הוָה
לְכָל־
הַנֹּפְלִ֑ים
וְ֝זוֹקֵ֗ף
לְכָל־
הַכְּפוּפִֽים׃
15. עֵֽינֵי־
כֹ֭ל
אֵלֶ֣יךָ
יְשַׂבֵּ֑רוּ
וְאַתָּ֤ה
נֽוֹתֵן־
לָהֶ֖ם
אֶת־
אָכְלָ֣ם
בְּעִתּֽוֹ׃
16. פּוֹתֵ֥חַ
אֶת־
יָדֶ֑ךָ
וּמַשְׂבִּ֖יעַ
לְכָל־
חַ֣י
רָצֽוֹן׃
17. צַדִּ֣יק
יְ֭הוָה
בְּכָל־
דְּרָכָ֑יו
וְ֝חָסִ֗יד
בְּכָל־
מַעֲשָֽׂיו׃
18. קָר֣וֹב
יְ֭הוָה
לְכָל־
קֹרְאָ֑יו
לְכֹ֤ל
אֲשֶׁ֖ר
יִקְרָאֻ֣הוּ
בֶאֱמֶֽת׃
19. רְצוֹן־
יְרֵאָ֥יו
יַעֲשֶׂ֑ה
וְֽאֶת־
שַׁוְעָתָ֥ם
יִ֝שְׁמַ֗ע
וְיוֹשִׁיעֵֽם׃
20. שׁוֹמֵ֣ר
יְ֭הוָה
אֶת־
כָּל־
אֹהֲבָ֑יו
וְאֵ֖ת
כָּל־
הָרְשָׁעִ֣ים
יַשְׁמִֽיד׃
21. תְּהִלַּ֥ת
יְהוָ֗ה
יְֽדַבֶּ֫ר
פִּ֥י
וִיבָרֵ֣ךְ
כָּל־
בָּ֭שָׂר
שֵׁ֥ם
קָדְשׁ֗וֹ
לְעוֹלָ֥ם
וָעֶֽד׃