ma.qaq describes wasting away or decaying, whether people perish in iniquity or flesh and the heavenly host deteriorate.

The attested use describes wasting away or decay: people are depicted as perishing in connection with iniquity, while flesh and the army of the heavens are portrayed as deteriorating. The supplied verses show the same broad outcome across personal, bodily, and cosmic settings rather than clearly separate lexical senses.

1. Wasting away or undergoing decay · dominant

   In Ezekiel 24:23, Ezekiel 4:17, Ezekiel 33:10, and Leviticus 26:39, Niphal forms occur in clauses where people waste away or rot in connection with iniquity, sins, or deprivation. Isaiah 34:4 extends the portrayal to the army of the heavens, and Zechariah 14:12 describes flesh, eyes, and tongues rotting while those struck remain standing. In Psalm 38:6, the perfect form stands in a context of being bent low and mourning, though the translation does not isolate its specific English contribution.

   Ezekiel 24:23Ezekiel 33:10Ezekiel 4:17Isaiah 34:4Leviticus 26:39Zechariah 14:12

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the clause with “rot” or “wasting away,” including the bodily description in Zechariah 14:12 and the human condition in Ezekiel 33:10. Psalm 38:6 does not make a particular English rendering of the term clear.