Psalms 102 · Verse 6

Psalms 102:6

I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
Psalms 102:6, King James Version

Psalms 102:6 in other translations

BSBI am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
WEBI am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.
ASVI am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places.
YLTI have been like to a pelican of the wilderness, I have been as an owl of the dry places.
DARBYI am become like the pelican of the wilderness, I am as an owl in desolate places;
BBEI am like a bird living by itself in the waste places; like the night-bird in a waste of sand.
WebsterI am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.

What does Psalms 102:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 102:6-7
6-7. The figures express extreme loneliness.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness - It may be the pelican or the bittern. The original, קאת kaath, is mentioned Lev 11:18 (note), and is there described. See the note. Owl of the desert - כוש cos, some species of owl; probably the night raven. See the notes referred to above.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 102:1-11

The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but here, is often elsewhere, the Holy Ghost has put words into our mouths. Here is a prayer put into the hands of the afflicted; let them present it to God. Even good men may be almost overwhelmed with afflictions. It is our duty and interest to pray; and it is comfort to an afflicted spirit to unburden itself, by a humble representation of its griefs. We must…

Read the full comment on Psalms 102:1-11 →

Psalms 102:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

דָּ֭מִיתִיDa.mi.tiI am likeH1819
לִקְאַ֣תlik.'At<to> a desert owl ofH6893
מִדְבָּ֑רmid.Bar[the] wildernessH4057
הָ֝יִ֗יתִיha.Yi.tiI amH1961
כְּכ֣וֹסke.Khoslike an owl ofH3563
חֳרָבֽוֹת\׃cho.ra.Vot[the] waste placesH2723

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 102:6

  • Zephaniah 2:14

    And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

  • Isaiah 38:14

    Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

  • Revelation 18:2

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

  • Isaiah 34:11-15

    But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. …

  • Job 30:29-30

    I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.

  • Micah 1:8

    Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
like.
Job 30:29,30; Isa 38:14; Mic 1:8
a pelican.
Isa 34:11-15; Zep 2:14; *marg:
Re 18:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 102:5

    By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.

  • Psalms 102:6

    I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.

  • Psalms 102:7

    I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

Read all of Psalms 102

Psalms 102:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Soy semejante al pelícano del desierto; soy como el buho de las soledades.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		À cause de la voix de mon gémissement, mes os s’attachent à ma chair.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich gleiche dem Pelikan der Wüste, bin wie die Eule der Einöden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		faciens misericordias Dominus, et judicium omnibus injuriam patientibus.