Discovery BoxPsalms 102:3-11
Context102:3 For my days go up in smoke, 1
and my bones are charred like a fireplace. 2
102:4 My heart is parched 3 and withered like grass,
for I am unable 4 to eat food. 5
102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin. 6
102:6 I am like an owl 7 in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl 8 among the ruins. 9
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses. 11
102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 12
and mix my drink with my tears, 13
102:10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed, 14 you pick me up and throw me away.
102:11 My days are coming to an end, 15
and I am withered like grass.
[102:3] 1 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
[102:3] 2 tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
[102:4] 3 tn Heb “struck, attacked.”
[102:4] 5 sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.
[102:5] 5 tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.
[102:6] 7 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).
[102:6] 8 tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).
[102:6] 9 sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.
[102:7] 9 tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the
[102:8] 11 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.
[102:9] 13 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).
[102:11] 17 tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.
