Mazmur 102:2-10

102:2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! ¹ 

Listen to me! ² 

When I call out to you, quickly answer me!

102:3 For my days go up in smoke, ³ 

and my bones are charred like a fireplace. ⁴ 

102:4 My heart is parched ⁵  and withered like grass,

for I am unable ⁶  to eat food. ⁷ 

102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,

my bones protrude from my skin. ⁸ 

102:6 I am like an owl ⁹  in the wilderness;

I am like a screech owl ¹⁰  among the ruins. ¹¹ 

102:7 I stay awake; ¹² 

I am like a solitary bird on a roof.

102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who mock me use my name in their curses. ¹³ 

102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, ¹⁴ 

and mix my drink with my tears, ¹⁵ 

102:10 because of your anger and raging fury.

Indeed, ¹⁶  you pick me up and throw me away.

[102:2]  ¹ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).

[102:2]  ² tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[102:3]  ³ tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”

[102:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.

[102:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “struck, attacked.”

[102:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “I forget.”

[102:4]  ⁷ 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.

[102:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.

[102:6]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).

[102:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).

[102:6]  ¹¹ sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.

[102:7]  ¹² tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the Lord (see vv. 1-2).

[102:8]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “weeping.”

[102:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for.”