תהלים, פרק ל״ב, פסוק ד׳

The burden of unconfessed sin creates an overwhelming agony that infiltrates a person completely. It is not a passing sadness, but a continuous state of existence that drains a person's vitality and pushes them toward the edge of ruin. God's decrees and punishments press down on the individual like a literal heavy weight [אבן עזרא, שטיינזלץ]. This crushing pressure offers no relief, persisting continuously through both the day and the night [מאירי].

Commentators differ on how this suffering is primarily experienced. Some explain it as an intense physical burning and illness that strips away the ability to sleep [אלשיך, שטיינזלץ]. Others view it as a profound mental anguish. In this state, a person is consumed by constant worry and fear of God's punishment. The anxiety grows so intense that the individual becomes terrified that their current worldly suffering will not be enough to wipe away their sins, leaving them to face further punishment in the world to come [רד״ק, רש״י, מצודת דוד].

The toll of this prolonged misery directly affects the body. The primary approach among commentators is that the suffering drains away a person's natural moisture, healthy fats, and warm life force. Overwhelmed by worry and pain, the body's fluids deplete, causing the flesh to waste away and become dangerously thin [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם, מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ]. An alternative view links this loss directly to a state of total physical ruin and destruction [רש״י].

This fading vitality is compared to the severe heat and dryness of the summer [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. It is as if an intense internal fire is evaporating every drop of moisture within the person [שטיינזלץ]. Just as tree leaves wither in the summer sun and can never become green and moist again, the individual is left completely dried out [מאירי]. Ultimately, this severe dryness represents the person drawing dangerously close to death [אבן עזרא]. This overwhelming distress, sickness, and lack of vitality leave the person feeling as though their condition is entirely permanent and absolute [אלשיך, מאירי].