102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 1
and mix my drink with my tears, 2
119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, 3
because people 4 do not keep your law.
126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant
will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. 5
1 sn 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).
2 tn Heb “weeping.”
3 tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”
4 tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.