Psalms 22:15

22:15 The roof of my mouth ¹  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ² 

You ³  set me in the dust of death. ⁴ 

Psalms 31:10

31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;

my years draw to a close as I groan. ⁵ 

My strength fails me because of ⁶  my sin,

and my bones become brittle. ⁷ 

Psalms 33:16

33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great might.

Psalms 38:10

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ⁸ 

Psalms 103:20

103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,

you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees

and obey his orders! ⁹ 

[22:15]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ³ 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]  ⁴ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.

[31:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”

[31:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “stumbles in.”

[31:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “grow weak.”

[38:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

[103:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”