Psalms 129:6

129:6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops

which withers before one can even pull it up, ¹ 

Psalms 22:15

22:15 The roof of my mouth ²  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ³ 

You ⁴  set me in the dust of death. ⁵ 

[129:6]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb שָׁלַף (shalaf) normally means “to draw [a sword]” or “to pull.” BDB 1025 s.v. suggests the meaning “to shoot up” here, but it is more likely that the verb here means “to pluck; to pull up,” a nuance attested for this word in later Hebrew and Aramaic (see Jastrow 1587 s.v. שָׁלַף).

[22:15]  ² tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

[22:15]  ³ tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ⁴ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

[22:15]  ⁵ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.