My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This isn't just about a lack of food; the "fatness" that's failing can also refer to the oil used for anointing, suggesting he's also neglected self-care and outward signs of health due to his overwhelming sorrow and distress. This paints a picture of a deep, all-consuming despair that affects both physical strength and spiritual well-being.
My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
English Standard Version (ESV)
David is in the depths of despair, feeling utterly forsaken and physically depleted by his suffering and possibly by intense fasting and prayer. He describes his weakened body as a testament to his anguish, noting how his enemies mock his pitiful state. This verse paints a stark picture of physical and emotional exhaustion before he appeals to God's mercy.
When you read about fasting in the Bible, it's often about spiritual discipline. But this verse paints a different picture. What does it reveal about suffering?
This verse shows fasting not just as a chosen spiritual practice, but as a consequence of intense suffering.
Forced or Voluntary?
The 'fasting' mentioned here isn't necessarily a chosen period of spiritual discipline. It could be:
The result is the same: a profound physical weakening that impacts the very core of one's being.
The verse doesn't just mention weakness; it speaks of a specific physical loss. What is 'fatness' and why is its absence so significant?
The phrase 'my flesh faileth of fatness' (or literally, 'for want of oil') points to a deep physical deterioration.
More Than Just Weight Loss
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This isn't just about appearance; it's about the body's fundamental health being stripped away by distress.
This psalm is incredibly raw and personal. But tradition points to a greater figure whose suffering mirrors these exact words. Who is it, and why?
While David wrote this psalm out of his personal anguish, the New Testament writers saw in his words a profound foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
Jesus: The Ultimate Sufferer
Understanding this psalm as a type of Christ invites us to see not just David's pain, but the suffering of our Savior, who willingly embraced this total depletion for our salvation.
Understand the original words
tsom · Hebrew Noun
A voluntary abstention from food, often accompanied by prayer and humiliation, used in Scripture to demonstrate total reliance on God, mourning, or intensity of spiritual focus.
Daniel's profound spiritual encounter leads to physical weakness and fasting, mirroring the Psalmist's state of bodily depletion due to spiritual discipline.
Luke 4:2Jesus Himself experienced intense fasting for forty days, leading to a state where 'at the end of them he was hungry,' illustrating the physical toll of such spiritual commitment.
Acts 13:2The early church engaged in fasting and prayer as a spiritual discipline before undertaking significant ministry, showing this practice was common for seeking God's guidance.
2 Corinthians 11:27Paul recounts enduring hunger, thirst, and fasting in his ministry, highlighting the physical hardship that can accompany devotion and service.
pulpitPsalms 109:24: "My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness."
Verse 24. - My knees are weak through fasting. I have brought myself down to extreme weakness by penitential fasting for my sins (comp. Psalm 35:13; Psalm 69:10). And my flesh faileth of fatness; literally, of oil. In my state of mourning and penitence I have abstained from anointing myself (2 Samuel 14:2), which has still further weakened me.
bensonPsalms 109:24: "My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness."
Psalm 109:24-25. My knees are weak through fasting — Either through forced fasting for want of food, when he was persecuted, or for want of appetite when he was sick, or through voluntary fasting, which the frequency and long continuance of his sufferings induced him to use. I became also a reproach unto them — Instead of that pity, which either religion or humanity should have taught them to exercise toward a…
This isn't just about a lack of food; the "fatness" that's failing can also refer to the oil used for anointing, suggesting he's also neglected self-care and outward signs of health due to his overwhelming sorrow and distress. This paints a picture of a deep, all-consuming despair that affects both physical strength and spiritual well-being.
David is in the depths of despair, feeling utterly forsaken and physically depleted by his suffering and possibly by intense fasting and prayer. He describes his weakened body as a testament to his anguish, noting how his enemies mock his pitiful state. This verse paints a stark picture of physical and emotional exhaustion before he appeals to God's mercy.
David is in the depths of despair, feeling utterly forsaken and physically depleted by his suffering and possibly by intense fasting and prayer. He describes his weakened body as a testament to his anguish, noting how his enemies mock his pitiful state. This verse paints a stark picture of physical and emotional exhaustion before he appeals to God's mercy.
"My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat." — This isn't just about a lack of food; the "fatness" that's failing can also refer to the oil used for anointing, suggesting he's also neglected self-care and outward signs of health due to his overwh…
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Last reviewed October 2026