Psalm 90
New American Standard Bible
BOOK 4
God’s Eternity and the Brevity of Human Life.
A Prayer of [a]Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, You have been our [b](A)dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before (B)the mountains were born
[c]Or You (C)gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even (D)from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You (E)turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
4 For (F)a thousand years in Your sight
Are like (G)yesterday when it passes by,
[d]Or like a (H)watch in the night.
5 You (I)have [e]swept them away like a flood, they [f](J)fall asleep;
In the morning they are like (K)grass that [g]sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it (L)flourishes and [h]sprouts anew;
Toward evening it (M)wilts and (N)withers away.
7 For we have been (O)consumed by Your anger,
And we have been terrified by Your wrath.
8 You have (P)placed our guilty deeds before You,
Our (Q)hidden sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For (R)all our days have dwindled away in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a [i]sigh.
10 As for the days of our [j]life, [k]they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, (S)eighty years,
Yet their pride is only (T)trouble and tragedy;
For it quickly passes, and we (U)disappear.
11 Who [l]understands the (V)power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the (W)fear [m]that is due You?
12 So (X)teach us to number our days,
That we may [n](Y)present to You a heart of wisdom.
13 Do (Z)return, Lord; (AA)how long will it be?
And [o]be (AB)sorry for Your servants.
14 (AC)Satisfy us in the morning with Your graciousness,
That we may (AD)sing for joy and rejoice all our days.
15 (AE)Make us glad [p]according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the (AF)years we have seen [q]evil.
16 Let Your (AG)work appear to Your servants
And Your (AH)majesty [r]to their children.
17 May the (AI)kindness of the Lord our God be upon us;
And [s](AJ)confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, [t]confirm the work of our hands.
Footnotes
- Psalm 90 Title Deut 33:1
- Psalm 90:1 Or hiding place; some ancient mss place of refuge
- Psalm 90:2 Or And
- Psalm 90:4 Or And
- Psalm 90:5 Or flooded
- Psalm 90:5 Lit become asleep
- Psalm 90:5 Or passes away
- Psalm 90:6 Or passes away
- Psalm 90:9 Or whisper
- Psalm 90:10 Lit years
- Psalm 90:10 Lit in them are
- Psalm 90:11 Or knows
- Psalm 90:11 Lit of You
- Psalm 90:12 Lit bring in
- Psalm 90:13 Or repent in regard to
- Psalm 90:15 Or as many days as
- Psalm 90:15 Or trouble
- Psalm 90:16 Or upon
- Psalm 90:17 Or give permanence to
- Psalm 90:17 Or give permanence to
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
Young's Literal Translation
90 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, a habitation Thou -- Thou hast been, To us -- in generation and generation,
2 Before mountains were brought forth, And Thou dost form the earth and the world, Even from age unto age Thou [art] God.
3 Thou turnest man unto a bruised thing, And sayest, Turn back, ye sons of men.
4 For a thousand years in Thine eyes [are] as yesterday, For it passeth on, yea, a watch by night.
5 Thou hast inundated them, they are asleep, In the morning as grass he changeth.
6 In the morning it flourisheth, and hath changed, At evening it is cut down, and hath withered.
7 For we were consumed in Thine anger, And in Thy fury we have been troubled.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, Our hidden things at the light of Thy face,
9 For all our days pined away in Thy wrath, We consumed our years as a meditation.
10 Days of our years, in them [are] seventy years, And if, by reason of might, eighty years, Yet [is] their enlargement labour and vanity, For it hath been cut off hastily, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? And according to Thy fear -- Thy wrath?
12 To number our days aright let [us] know, And we bring the heart to wisdom.
13 Turn back, O Jehovah, till when? And repent concerning Thy servants.
14 Satisfy us at morn [with] Thy kindness, And we sing and rejoice all our days.
15 Cause us to rejoice according to the days Wherein Thou hast afflicted us, The years we have seen evil.
16 Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, And Thine honour on their sons.
17 And let the pleasantness of Jehovah our God be upon us, And the work of our hands establish on us, Yea, the work of our hands establish it!
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