Psalm 90
Amplified Bible
Book Four
God’s Eternity and Man’s Transitoriness.
A Prayer of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, You have been our dwelling place [our refuge, our sanctuary, our stability] in all generations.
2
Before the mountains were born
Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.
3
You turn man back to dust,
And say, “Return [to the earth], O children of [mortal] men!”
4
For a [a]thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
Or as a watch in the night.(A)
5
You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone];
In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—
6
In the morning it flourishes and springs up;
In the evening it wilts and withers away.
7
For we have been consumed by Your anger
And by Your wrath we have been terrified.
8
You have placed our wickedness before you,
Our secret sins [which we tried to conceal, You have placed] in the [revealing] light of Your presence.
9
For all our days pass away in Your wrath;
We have finished our years like a whispered sigh.(B)
10
The days of our life are [b]seventy years—
Or even, if because of strength, eighty years;
Yet their pride [in additional years] is only labor and sorrow,
For it is soon gone and we fly away.
11
Who understands the power of Your anger? [Who connects this brevity of life among us with Your judgment of sin?]
And Your wrath, [who connects it] with the [reverent] fear that is due You?
12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
13
Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]; how long will it be?
Be compassionate toward Your servants—revoke Your sentence.
14
O satisfy us with Your lovingkindness in the morning [now, before we grow older],
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad in proportion to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have suffered evil.
16
Let Your work [the signs of Your power] be revealed to Your servants
And Your [glorious] majesty to their children.
17
And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Confirm for us the work of our hands—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:4 This was understood by the ancient rabbis to mean that a “thousand years” are literally only one day in God’s reckoning, and Peter seems to confirm the idea in 2 Pet 3:8.
- Psalm 90:10 This psalm is credited to Moses, who is interceding with God to remove the curse which made it necessary for every Israelite over twenty years of age (when they rebelled against God at Kadesh-barnea) to die before reaching the promised land of Canaan (Num 14:26-35). Moses himself lived to be 120 years old, Aaron 123, Miriam several years older, and Joshua 110 years of age; but it is conceivable that Moses considered such longevity the exception. The ancient rabbis taught that by the time of David, 70 was the age of death for an old man and 80 for a vigorous old man.
Psalm 90
English Standard Version
Book Four
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A (A)Prayer of Moses, the (B)man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our (C)dwelling place[a]
in all generations.
2 (D)Before the (E)mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
(F)from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, (G)“Return, (H)O children of man!”[b]
4 For (I)a thousand years in your sight
are but as (J)yesterday when it is past,
or as (K)a watch in the night.
5 You (L)sweep them away as with a flood; they are like (M)a dream,
like (N)grass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in (O)the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it (P)fades and (Q)withers.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have (R)set our iniquities before you,
our (S)secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span[c] is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 (T)So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 (U)Return, O Lord! (V)How long?
Have (W)pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the (X)morning with your steadfast love,
that we may (Y)rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have (Z)afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your (AA)work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the (AB)favor[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish (AC)the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Footnotes
- Psalm 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge
- Psalm 90:3 Or of Adam
- Psalm 90:10 Or pride
- Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
Psalm 90
New Living Translation
Book four (Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying,
“Return to dust, you mortals!”
4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.
5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
8 You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,
ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
13 O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.
17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!
Psalm 90
The Message
90 1-2 God, it seems you’ve been our home forever;
long before the mountains were born,
Long before you brought earth itself to birth,
from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.
3-11 So don’t return us to mud, saying,
“Back to where you came from!”
Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether
a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you.
Are we no more to you than a wispy dream,
no more than a blade of grass
That springs up gloriously with the rising sun
and is cut down without a second thought?
Your anger is far and away too much for us;
we’re at the end of our rope.
You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed
since we were children is entered in your books.
All we can remember is that frown on your face.
Is that all we’re ever going to get?
We live for seventy years or so
(with luck we might make it to eighty),
And what do we have to show for it? Trouble.
Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard.
Who can make sense of such rage,
such anger against the very ones who fear you?
12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!
Teach us to live wisely and well!
Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—
and treat your servants with kindness for a change.
Surprise us with love at daybreak;
then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.
Make up for the bad times with some good times;
we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.
Let your servants see what you’re best at—
the ways you rule and bless your children.
And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,
confirming the work that we do.
Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson