Mazmur 102:3

102:3 For my days go up in smoke, ¹ 

and my bones are charred like a fireplace. ² 

Mazmur 102:5

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

my bones protrude from my skin. ³ 

[102:3]  ¹ tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”

[102:3]  ² 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.

[102:5]  ³ 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.