69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;
my throat is sore; 1
my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. 2
69:21 They put bitter poison 3 into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. 4
1 tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”
2 tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.
3 tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
4 sn John 19:28-30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.