Psalm 102

Footnotes

1. 14 Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.
2. 1 Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”
3. 2 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).
4. 3 Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
5. 4 Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
6. 5 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.
7. 6 Heb “struck, attacked.”
8. 7 Heb “I forget.”
9. 8 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.
10. 9 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.
11. 10 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 (, “desert owl”; “owl”).
12. 11 The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. , “owl”; “little owl”).
13. 12 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.
14. 13 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).
15. 14 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.
16. 15 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).
17. 16 Heb “weeping.”
18. 17 Or “for.”
19. 18 Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.
20. 19 Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.
21. 20 Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”
22. 21 The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
23. 22 Or “for.”
24. 23 The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
25. 24 Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
26. 25 Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).
27. 26 The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
28. 27 The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
29. 28 Heb “despise.”
30. 29 The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16–17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
31. 30 The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16–17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32. 31 Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”
33. 32 The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.
34. 33 Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
35. 34 Heb “his praise.”
36. 35 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
37. 36 “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”
38. 37 Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b–24).
39. 38 Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”
40. 39 Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”
41. 40 Heb “stand.”
42. 41 The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.
43. 42 Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.
44. 43 Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
45. 44 Heb “before you will be established.”