Psalms 102:3

3 Because my days disappear like smoke, my bones are burned up as if in an oven;

Psalms 102:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 102:3

For my days are consumed like smoke
Which suddenly rises up, is easily dissipated, and quickly disappears; so sudden, short, and transient, are the days of man's life; see ( James 4:14 ) or "in smoke" ^F3, as the Syriac version; his days were spent in great obscurity, in the darkness of affliction, temptation, and desertion; and in so much vexation, trouble, and uneasiness, as if he had lived in smoke all his time: and

my bones are burnt as an hearth;
on which fire is continually made for the preparation of food, and other uses: or as a "trivet", or "gridiron": so the Targum: or as a frying pan; so the Arabic version: the meaning is, that, through trouble and grief, his bones, the strongest parts of his body, the props and supports of it, were so weakened and enfeebled, the strength of them so exhausted, that they were as if they had been parched and burnt up, as the hearth by fire; see ( Proverbs 17:22 ) ( Psalms 22:15 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (Nveb) "in fumo", Montanus.

Psalms 102:3 In-Context

1 LORD, hear my prayer! Let my cry reach you!

2 Don't hide your face from me in my time of trouble! Listen to me! Answer me quickly as I cry out!

3 Because my days disappear like smoke, my bones are burned up as if in an oven;

4 my heart is smashed like dried-up grass. I even forget to eat my food

5 because of my intense groans. My bones are protruding from my skin.