109:18 He made cursing a way of life, 1
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil. 2
109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, 3
or a belt 4 one wears continually!
1 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
2 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”
3 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
4 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.