卷四:诗篇90—106

上帝与世人

上帝的仆人摩西的祈祷。

90 主啊,
你是我们世世代代的居所。
群山尚未诞生,
大地和世界还未形成,
从亘古到永远,你是上帝。
你叫人归回尘土,
说:“世人啊,归回尘土吧。”
在你眼中,
千年如一日,又如夜里的一更。
你像急流一般把世人冲走,
叫他们如梦消逝。
他们像清晨的嫩草,
清晨还生机盎然,
傍晚就凋谢枯萎。
你的怒气使我们灭亡,
你的愤怒使我们战抖。
你知道我们的罪恶,
对我们隐秘的罪了如指掌。
我们活在你的烈怒之下,
一生就像一声叹息飞逝而去。
10 我们一生七十岁,
强壮的可活八十岁,
但人生最美好的时光也充满劳苦和愁烦,
生命转瞬即逝,
我们便如飞而去。
11 谁明白你愤怒的威力?
有谁因为明白你的烈怒而对你心存敬畏呢?
12 求你教导我们明白人生有限,
使我们做有智慧的人。
13 耶和华啊,我还要苦候多久呢?
求你怜悯你的仆人。
14 求你在清晨以慈爱来满足我们,
使我们一生欢喜歌唱。
15 你使我们先前经历了多少苦难和不幸的岁月,
求你也赐给我们多少欢乐的岁月。
16 求你让仆人们看见你的作为,
让我们的后代看见你的威荣。
17 愿主——我们的上帝恩待我们,
使我们所做的亨通,
使我们所做的亨通。

God’s Eternity and Human Frailty

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.[a]

90 O Lord, you have been our help[b] in all generations.[c]
Before the mountains were born
and you brought forth the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
You return man to the dust,
saying,[d] “Return, O sons of man.”
For a thousand years in your eyes
are like yesterday when it passes,
or like a watch in the night.
You sweep them away like a flood.
They fall asleep.[e]
In the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.
In the morning it blossoms and sprouts anew;
by evening it withers and dries up.
For we are brought to an end by your anger,
and we hasten off[f] by your wrath.
You have put our iniquities before you,
our hidden sins into the light of your countenance.
For all of our days dwindle away in your rage;
we complete our years like a sigh.
10 As for the days of our years, within them are seventy years
or if by strength eighty years, and their pride[g] is trouble and disaster,
for it passes quickly and we fly away.
11 Who knows the strength of your anger,
and your rage consistent with[h] the fear due you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return,[i] O Yahweh. How long?
And have compassion on[j] your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen calamity.
16 Let your work be visible to your servants,
and your majesty to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish for us the work of our hands,
yes, the work of our hands, establish it.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 90:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 90:1 Or “dwelling place”
  3. Psalm 90:1 Literally “in a generation and a generation”
  4. Psalm 90:3 Literally “and you say”
  5. Psalm 90:5 The interpretation of 5a is difficult
  6. Psalm 90:7 Or “we are terrified”
  7. Psalm 90:10 Or “span”
  8. Psalm 90:11 Hebrew “according to”
  9. Psalm 90:13 Or “Turn back your wrath
  10. Psalm 90:13 Or “change your mind concerning”