Psalms 109:24 · Bible study
Psalms 109:24 Commentary: Fasting and Weakness in Prayer
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Psalm 109:24 shows the psalmist's physical collapse from fasting. Is this voluntary penance or forced deprivation? Explore the meaning and context.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist's knees stagger and his flesh wastes away from prolonged fasting, signaling total physical collapse that fuels his cry for deliverance.
- Key words: "knees weak" (כָּשַׁל, to stumble), "fasting" (צוֹם, tsom), "flesh fails" (כָּחַשׁ, to become lean), "fatness" (שֶׁמֶן, oil/fat).
- Main debate: Whether the fasting is a voluntary act of penitence (as in Psalm 35:13) or an involuntary result of persecution and grief.
- Theological theme: Physical weakness as an honest component of lament, grounding the plea in the reality of suffering.
- Best use: Teaching on lament, prayer, and the role of the body in spiritual life; also in Christological readings of the psalms.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.
WEB World English Bible 2000
My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.
KJV King James Version 1769
My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh hath failed of fatness.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
My knees are failing through fasting, and my flesh hath lost its fatness;
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Mis rodillas están debilitadas á causa del ayuno, y mi carne desfallecida por falta de gordura.
Meus joelhos estão fracos de tanto jejuar; minha carne está magra, sem gordura alguma.
Mes genoux sont affaiblis par le jeûne,
Meine Kniee sind schwach von Fasten, und mein Fleisch ist mager und hat kein Fett.
Mijn knieen struikelen van vasten, en mijn vlees is vermagerd, zodat er geen vet aan is.
Le mie ginocchia vacillano per i miei digiuni, e la mia carne deperisce e dimagra.
Kolana moje upadają od postu, a ciało moje wychudło z tłustości.
我因禁食，膝骨 軟弱；我身上的肉 也漸漸瘦了。
My knees are feeble for need of food; there is no fat on my bones.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 109:24
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree that the fasting in Psalm 109:24 points to real physical depletion, not a ritual gesture. Clarke draws on classical poets to show that hunger specifically weakens the knees. Cambridge Bible notes the phrase 'faileth of fatness' may mean wasted for want of oil, a sign of mourning. Keil and Delitzsch describe a loathing of food that comes with deep grief. Matthew Henry reads the verse as part of a humble complaint, connecting the emaciated body to a wounded heart. All see the description as evidence of genuine suffering, whether from penitence or persecution. The physical details strengthen the psalmist's plea: he is not exaggerating; his body bears the marks of prolonged distress. This honest portrayal of weakness reminds readers that God welcomes the whole truth of our condition, not a polished version.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Voluntary penitence: Cross-references like Psalms 35:13 where the psalmist afflicts his soul with fasting as an act of humility and prayer.
- Involuntary persecution: The immediate context of being 'poor and needy' (v.22), shaken off like a locust (v.23), and reproached (v.25), suggesting forced deprivation.
- Typological of Christ: Early Christian and Reformed readings that connect the psalmist's physical suffering to the passion of Christ, supported by Acts 1:20.
What is clear: The psalmist's physical weakness is genuine and serves as a basis for his appeal to God's mercy, regardless of its cause.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the fasting | The fasting involves real, prolonged physical deprivation that affects the body. | Some see it as voluntary penitence (based on Psalms 35:13, where the psalmist afflicts himself with fasting), while others argue it is the involuntary result of persecution and grief (the context of being 'poor and needy' and shaken off like a locust). |
| Christological interpretation | The psalm as a whole, especially verses like 24, has been applied to Christ's suffering by many traditions. | Whether this is a direct prophecy of Christ (Calvin, Gill) or a typological reading (a pattern that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ) varies across interpretive schools. |
| Role of physical description | The physical description strengthens the lament and appeals to God's mercy. | Whether it functions primarily as evidence of the depth of suffering (to demonstrate need) or as a rhetorical tool (to persuade God to act) is a matter of emphasis. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The psalm is attributed to David and falls into the category of lament, specifically an imprecatory psalm where the writer calls down judgment on enemies while pleading for personal deliverance. Fasting in ancient Israel served multiple purposes: it accompanied mourning for the dead (1 Sam 31:13), repentance (Joel 2:12), and urgent prayer (Ezra 8:23). It could be voluntary or involuntary, forced by siege or persecution. The psalmist's knees staggering under him would be a familiar image; Clarke cites Plautus and Lucretius to show that hunger causes the knees to give way across cultures. The word for 'fast' (tsom) in this context likely denotes abstaining from food due to distress rather than a scheduled religious fast. The parallel phrase 'my flesh fails of fatness' (or 'lacks oil') points to a body that has lost its strength and moisture. In a hot climate, olive oil was a staple for energy and skin care; lacking it signaled extreme poverty or prolonged grief. The surrounding verses describe social rejection: enemies shake their heads, the psalmist is shaken off like a locust. So the physical weakness here is not merely a symptom, it is the visible evidence of a life under attack, and the psalmist offers it as grounds for God's intervention. The verse invites readers to see physical frailty not as failure but as fuel for prayer.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts.
Reception History
Christian tradition from the early church onward has often read Psalm 109 as prophetic of Christ's betrayal and suffering, following the New Testament quotation of verses 8-9 in Acts 1:20 regarding Judas. Verse 24 has been seen as describing Christ's physical exhaustion during his passion. Calvin and Gill explicitly apply the psalm to Christ, with Gill noting the weakness of Christ's knees during his agony in Gethsemane. In the Reformed tradition, Matthew Henry read the verse as part of the psalmist's humble complaint, modeling honest lament. The verse has also been used in prayers of the sick and those in prolonged distress, providing language for physical suffering.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The psalmist tells God exactly what his body feels. Not stoic silence, but honest description.
- Fasting here is not a spiritual technique, it is the result of overwhelming grief or persecution. The body reveals the inner wound.
- This physical weakness becomes the very reason God should act: when we have nothing left, God steps in.
Five-point outline
- Context: enemies surround the psalmist; their curses contrast with his complaint.
- Verse 24 sits between emotional distress (v.22) and social shame (v.25).
- The knees give way, a sign of total collapse, not just tiredness.
- The lack of fatness or oil signals prolonged deprivation, not a day or two without food.
- The psalmist does not resolve to try harder; he appeals to Yahweh's character, 'your lovingkindness is good' (v.21).
Illustration hooks
- A parent who has lost weight while sitting vigil at a child's hospital bed.
- A believer in a season of intense intercessory prayer, finding the physical cost real.
- A person facing false accusations at work, their body showing the strain of sleepless nights.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it okay to pray about physical symptoms, or should I focus on spiritual things?
- Does God want me to describe my suffering in detail, or is that complaining?
- How can fasting be both a spiritual discipline and a sign of distress? Are they the same thing?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 109:24 gives us language for bringing our physical brokenness before God. In a culture that often hides weakness, the psalmist lays his body bare. This small group discussion helps participants connect the verse to their own experience of lament.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 109:24 aloud. What physical symptoms does the psalmist describe?
- Look at verse 22: the psalmist's heart is wounded. How does the physical description (v.24) relate to the emotional and spiritual pain mentioned around it?
- Why do you think the psalmist includes his fasting and physical weakness as part of his prayer? What does he expect God to do with that information?
- In your own life, when have you experienced your body showing the effects of grief, stress, or persecution?
- How does it feel to bring those physical symptoms into your prayers? Is it easy or difficult? Why?
- Some Christians read this verse as pointing to Christ's suffering. Does that interpretation change how you understand the psalmist's cry?
- What would it look like this week to be honest with God about the state of your body, whether strong or weak?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 19:20 | My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. |
| Psalms 22:14 | I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. |
| Psalms 32:3 | When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. |
| Psalms 32:4 | For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah. |
| Psalms 35:13 | But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom. |
| Psalms 35:14 | I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother. |
| Psalms 38:5 | My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness. |
| Psalms 38:8 | I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws on ancient Greek and Latin poets to show that hunger specifically weakens the knees and dims the eyes, confirming the psalmist's physical description as a universally observed experience rather than a mere metaphor.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the psalmist describes physical weakness through two specific bodily conditions: knees that cannot hold firm because hunger has drained their strength, and a body that has lost its fatness, which he says was understood as the oil-like substance needed for maintaining vigor.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists this psalm is not merely about David but prophetically about Christ and His enemies, with the curses pointing to the judgment that fell on the Jewish nation for rejecting Him. David's personal grievances become a pattern for how the faithful, as members of Christ, cry out to God for justice.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible notes that the phrase "faileth of fatness" likely refers not to physical wasting from hunger but to the mourner's practice of abstaining from oil. In his distress he had no appetite and, like a mourner, omitted the customary anointing.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes draw attention to the psalmist's extreme physical wasting from fasting: his knees are weak and his flesh has completely lost its fatness. The point is that fasting here is not a mere ritual gesture but something that actually drains a person's bodily strength entirely.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill applies these words directly to Christ's physical suffering during his passion. He sees the weak knees as fitting Christ kneeling in agony in Gethsemane, and the failing flesh as describing his body's moisture being drained away like a dried potsherd on the cross.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the verbal taunts and reproaches directed at the psalmist do not merely add insult to injury; they actively worsen his already weak and afflicted state. The scorn he faces deepens his misery.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch points out that the thunder and lightning of earlier verses give way here to a shower of tears. They highlight the twofold divine name "Jahve Adonaj" as matching the intensity of the complaint, and the image of the shadow lengthening at evening until it vanishes into night, showing the sufferer being driven away like a defenseless locust.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the enemy here not as a type of Christ but as a type of Judas, making the Psalm typico-prophetical rather than directly Messianic. He argues that the fierce imprecations display a spirit mixed with human passion, yet they are to be understood within this special prophetic role, not justified as coming from Christ.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that David turns from denouncing his enemies to humbly pleading his own desperate condition—poor, needy, wounded in heart, and fading like a shadow. The point is that David makes himself the proper object of pity, not boasting, but laying his weakness before God as reason for deliverance.