69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, 1
which causes others to insult me. 2
78:18 They willfully challenged God 3
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
78:19 They insulted God, saying, 4
“Is God really able to give us food 5 in the wilderness?
78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. 6
He sent them more than enough to eat. 7
78:30 They were not yet filled up, 8
their food was still in their mouths,
80:5 You have given them tears as food; 9
you have made them drink tears by the measure. 10
102:4 My heart is parched 11 and withered like grass,
for I am unable 12 to eat food. 13
104:27 All of your creatures 14 wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis. 15
105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply. 16
107:9 For he has satisfied those who thirst, 17
and those who hunger he has filled with food. 18
107:18 They lost their appetite for all food, 19
and they drew near the gates of death.
111:5 He gives 20 food to his faithful followers; 21
he always remembers his covenant. 22
136:25 to the one who gives food to all living things, 23
for his loyal love endures.
145:15 Everything looks to you in anticipation, 24
and you provide them with food on a regular basis. 25
145:16 You open your hand,
and fill every living thing with the food they desire. 26
146:7 vindicates the oppressed, 27
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
147:9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp. 28
1 sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.
2 tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”
3 tn Heb “and they tested God in their heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the center of their volition.
4 tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”
5 tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”
6 sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).
7 tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”
8 tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”
9 tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”
10 tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.
11 tn Heb “struck, attacked.”
12 tn Heb “I forget.”
13 sn 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.
14 tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.
15 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
16 tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).
17 tn Heb “[the] longing throat.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which frequently refers to one’s very being or soul, here probably refers to one’s parched “throat” (note the parallelism with נֶפֱשׁ רְעֵבָה, nefesh rÿ’evah, “hungry throat”).
18 tn Heb “and [the] hungry throat he has filled [with] good.”
19 tn Heb “all food their appetite loathed.”
20 tn Or “gave,” if the events of the exodus and conquest period (see v. 6, 9) are primarily in view.
21 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
22 tn Or “he remembers his covenant forever” (see Ps 105:8).
23 tn Heb “to all flesh,” which can refer to all people (see Pss 65:2; 145:21) or more broadly to mankind and animals. Elsewhere the psalms view God as the provider for all living things (see Pss 104:27-28; 145:15).
24 tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”
25 tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).
26 tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”
27 tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”
28 tn Heb “which cry out.”