Psalms 104:16

104:16 The trees of the Lord ¹  receive all the rain they need, ² 

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,

Psalms 109:18

109:18 He made cursing a way of life, ³ 

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil. ⁴ 

[104:16]  ¹ sn The trees of the Lord are the cedars of Lebanon (see the next line), which are viewed as special because of their great size and grandeur. The Lebanon forest was viewed elsewhere in the OT as the “garden of God” (see Ezek 31:8).

[104:16]  ² tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).

[109:18]  ³ tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”

[109:18]  ⁴ 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!”