Psalms 102:8-9

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 

[102:8]  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.

[102:9]  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).

[102:9]  ³ tn Heb “weeping.”