4 Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
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.
6 Heb “struck, attacked.”
7 Heb “I forget.”
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.
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.

In other versions

For my days pass away like smoke,

and my bones burn like a furnace.

My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;

I forget to eat my bread.

Because of my loud groaning

my bones cling to my flesh.

For my days vanish like smoke;

my bones burn like glowing embers.

My heart is blighted and withered like grass;

I forget to eat my food.

In my distress I groan aloud

and am reduced to skin and bones.

For my days vanish like smoke,

and my bones burn like a furnace.

My heart is suffering, withered like grass;

I even forget to eat my food.

Because of the sound of my groaning,

my flesh sticks to my bones.

For my days disappear like smoke,

and my bones burn like red-hot coals.

My heart is sick, withered like grass,

and I have lost my appetite.

Because of my groaning,

I am reduced to skin and bones.

for my days vanish in smoke,

and my bones are charred like a hearth.

My heart is struck like grass and withers.

Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.

Because of the sound of my groaning

my bones cling to my skin.

For my days are consumed like smoke,

And my bones are burned as an hearth.

My heart is smitten, and withered like grass;

So that I forget to eat my bread.

By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

Public Domain