Psalms 79:2

79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants

to the birds of the sky; ¹ 

the flesh of your loyal followers

to the beasts of the earth.

Psalms 102:4

102:4 My heart is parched ²  and withered like grass,

for I am unable ³  to eat food. ⁴ 

[79:2]  ¹ tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”

[102:4]  ² tn Heb “struck, attacked.”

[102:4]  ³ tn Heb “I forget.”

[102:4]  ⁴ 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.