Psalm 102:5
New International Version
In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones.

New Living Translation
Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.

English Standard Version
Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.

Berean Standard Bible
Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.

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

New King James Version
Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin.

New American Standard Bible
Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh.

NASB 1995
Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh.

NASB 1977
Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh.

Legacy Standard Bible
Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh.

Amplified Bible
Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble] My bones cling to my flesh.

Christian Standard Bible
Because of the sound of my groaning, my flesh sticks to my bones.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Because of the sound of my groaning, my flesh sticks to my bones.

American Standard Version
By reason of the voice of my groaning My bones cleave to my flesh.

Contemporary English Version
My groaning never stops, and my bones can be seen through my skin.

English Revised Version
By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my flesh.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I am nothing but skin and bones because of my loud groans.

Good News Translation
I groan aloud; I am nothing but skin and bones.

International Standard Version
Because of the sound of my sighing, my bones cling to my skin.

Majority Standard Bible
Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.

NET Bible
Because of the anxiety that makes me groan, my bones protrude from my skin.

New Heart English Bible
By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin.

Webster's Bible Translation
By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.

World English Bible
By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
From the voice of my sighing "" My bone has cleaved to my flesh.

Young's Literal Translation
From the voice of my sighing Hath my bone cleaved to my flesh.

Smith's Literal Translation
From the voice of my groaning my bone did cleave to my flesh.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my flesh.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Before the voice of my groaning, my bone has adhered to my flesh.

New American Bible
From my loud groaning I become just skin and bones.

New Revised Standard Version
Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Because of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
My flesh cleaves to my bones from the voice of my groanings!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
By reason of the voice of my sighing My bones cleave to my flesh.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bone has cleaved to my flesh.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Prayer of the Afflicted
4My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. 5Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones. 6I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.…

Cross References
Job 19:20
My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

Lamentations 4:8
But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

Lamentations 5:10
Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.

Job 33:21
His flesh wastes away from sight, and his hidden bones protrude.

Isaiah 24:16
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.

Psalm 22:15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.

Psalm 109:24
My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.

Isaiah 38:13
I composed myself until the morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me.

Ezekiel 37:11
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Matthew 6:16
When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Matthew 9:14-15
Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” / Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

2 Corinthians 11:27
in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

1 Corinthians 4:11
To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

Philippians 3:19
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.


Treasury of Scripture

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

the voice

Psalm 6:6,8
I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears…

Psalm 32:3,4
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long…

Psalm 38:8-10
I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart…

skin, or, flesh

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Psalm 102
1. The prophet in his prayer makes a grievous complaint.
12. He takes comfort in the eternity, and mercy of God
18. The mercies of God are to be recorded
23. He sustains his weakness by the unchangeableness of God.














Because of my loud groaning
The phrase "because of my loud groaning" captures the depth of the psalmist's distress. The Hebrew word for "groaning" here is "אנחתי" (anachti), which conveys a deep, guttural moan or sigh that comes from intense suffering or sorrow. This type of groaning is not just a physical expression but a spiritual one, reflecting the psalmist's profound anguish and desperation. Historically, groaning is often associated with the cries of the Israelites in Egypt, as seen in Exodus 2:24, where God hears their groaning and remembers His covenant. This connection underscores the idea that God is attentive to the cries of His people, even when they are wordless expressions of pain.

my bones cling to my flesh
The imagery of "my bones cling to my flesh" is a vivid depiction of physical emaciation and weakness. In Hebrew, the word for "cling" is "דָּבַק" (dabaq), which means to adhere or stick closely. This suggests a state of extreme frailty, where the psalmist's physical condition mirrors his spiritual and emotional desolation. The bones clinging to the flesh indicate a loss of vitality and strength, often associated with fasting, mourning, or severe illness. In the broader scriptural context, this imagery is reminiscent of Job's suffering, where he describes his own physical deterioration in similar terms (Job 19:20). This serves as a powerful reminder of the human condition's vulnerability and the need for divine intervention and restoration.

(5) Skin.--See margin. In Lamentations 4:8, more correctly, "my skin cleaveth to my bones;" a picture of emaciation, the result of fasting.

Verse 5. - By reason of the voice of my groaning; i.e. "by reason of the affliction which causes my groaning." My bones cleave to my skin; literally, to my flesh, but the Authorized Version rightly expresses the meaning (comp. Job 19:20; Lamentations 4:8).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Through my loud
מִקּ֥וֹל (miq·qō·wl)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

groaning,
אַנְחָתִ֑י (’an·ḥā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 585: A sighing, groaning

my flesh
לִבְשָׂרִֽי׃ (liḇ·śā·rî)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1320: Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man

clings
דָּבְקָ֥ה (dā·ḇə·qāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1692: To impinge, cling, adhere, to catch by pursuit

to my bones.
עַ֝צְמִ֗י (‘aṣ·mî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6106: A bone, the body, the substance, selfsame


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OT Poetry: Psalm 102:5 By reason of the voice of my (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 102:4
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