And yet he must have sinned or he would not suffer as he does. In addition to his confession, he imposes the hardship of fasting upon himself by way of penance:
Food I have not eaten;
Clear water I have not drunk.
The reference to fasting occurs so frequently in these psalms that one is tempted to conclude that such a bodily castigation was demanded by the ritual of the Babylonians:[477]
An offence have I unwittingly committed against my god,
A sin against my goddess unwillingly been guilty of,
O lord, my sins are many, great are my transgressions,
O my god, my sins are many, great are my transgressions,
O my goddess, my sins are many, great are my transgressions,
Known or unknown god, my sins are many, great are my transgressions.