102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses. 1
102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 2
and mix my drink with my tears, 3
1 tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.
2 sn Mourners would sometimes put ashes on their head or roll in ashes as a sign of mourning (see 2 Sam 13:19; Job 2:8; Isa 58:5).
3 tn Heb “weeping.”