My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.

PSALMS 109:24KJV
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Psalms 109:24 (KJV)

What does Psalms 109:24 mean?

Psalms 109:24 describes a speaker so worn down by fasting that his body is failing him. His knees can barely support him, and he has lost the fullness of his flesh. The verse gives a physical picture of his distress as he appeals to God for help.

The image moves from his knees to his whole body. Following his description of himself as “poor and needy” in verse 22, the speaker gives a concrete picture of what his suffering looks like.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 109:24

  • “weak” — כָּשַׁל (kashal): This word can carry the sense of stumbling or giving way. The speaker’s knees are pictured as unable to hold him steady.
  • “faileth” — כָּחַשׁ (kachash): In this setting, the word carries the sense of becoming lean or wasting away. The KJV phrase “my flesh faileth of fatness” pictures a loss of body fat, not an increase in it.

Why Psalms 109:24 matters

  • The verse brings the speaker’s suffering into view through his body. “Knees” and “flesh” make his distress visible rather than leaving it as a general feeling.
  • The surrounding passage presents his suffering alongside mistreatment by others. In verse 25, the speaker says people look at him and shake their heads, adding public scorn to his physical weakness.
  • His words are part of an appeal to God, not just a report of his condition. In verse 26, the speaker asks God to help and save him.

Where else these words appear

“fasting” Hebrew H6685 · used in 22 verses

  • 2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
  • Esther 9:31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
  • Jeremiah 36:9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

“faileth” Hebrew H3584 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
  • 2 Samuel 22:45 Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.
  • Proverbs 30:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

“knees” Hebrew H1290 · used in 25 verses

  • Genesis 30:3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
  • 1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
  • Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

“weak” Hebrew H3782 · used in 59 verses

  • Leviticus 26:37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
  • Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
  • Jeremiah 50:32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.