17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

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17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!(A)

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17 And let the [a]favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 90:17 Or, beauty

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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17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish thou the work of our hands upon us,
    yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

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90 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

BOOK IV
(Psalms 90–106)

Psalm 90

Eternal God and Mortal Man

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, You have been our refuge[a]
in every generation.(A)
Before the mountains were born,
before You gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, You are God.(B)

You return mankind to the dust,
saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”(C)
For in Your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.(D)
You end their lives;[b] they sleep.(E)
They are like grass that grows in the morning—
in the morning it sprouts and grows;
by evening it withers and dries up.(F)

For we are consumed by Your anger;
we are terrified by Your wrath.(G)
You have set our unjust ways before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.(H)
For all our days ebb away under Your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.(I)
10 Our lives last[c] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are[d] struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.(J)
11 Who understands the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.(K)
12 Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.[e](L)

13 Lord—how long?
Turn and have compassion on Your servants.(M)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.(N)
15 Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.(O)
16 Let Your work be seen by Your servants,
and Your splendor by their children.(P)
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!(Q)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 90:1 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read dwelling place
  2. Psalm 90:5 Or You overwhelm them; Hb obscure
  3. Psalm 90:10 Lit The days of our years in them
  4. Psalm 90:10 LXX, Tg, Syr, Vg read Even their span is; Hb obscure
  5. Psalm 90:12 Or develop a heart of wisdom

Book IV

God’s eternity and man’s transitoriness.

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.

90 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place
In all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever thou [a]hadst formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Thou turnest man to [b]destruction,
And sayest, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight
Are but as yesterday [c]when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep:
In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up;
In the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
For we are consumed in thine anger,
And in thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath:
We bring our years to an end as [d]a sigh.
10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten,
Or even by reason of strength fourscore years;
Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow;
For it is soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger,
And thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto thee?
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may get us a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Jehovah; how long?
And let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
14 Oh satisfy us in the morning with thy lovingkindness,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us,
And the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
And thy glory upon their children.
17 And let the [e]favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 90:2 Hebrew gavest birth to.
  2. Psalm 90:3 Or, dust. Hebrew crushing.
  3. Psalm 90:4 Or, when it passeth
  4. Psalm 90:9 Or, a sound
  5. Psalm 90:17 Or, beauty

90 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, a habitation Thou -- Thou hast been, To us -- in generation and generation,

Before mountains were brought forth, And Thou dost form the earth and the world, Even from age unto age Thou [art] God.

Thou turnest man unto a bruised thing, And sayest, Turn back, ye sons of men.

For a thousand years in Thine eyes [are] as yesterday, For it passeth on, yea, a watch by night.

Thou hast inundated them, they are asleep, In the morning as grass he changeth.

In the morning it flourisheth, and hath changed, At evening it is cut down, and hath withered.

For we were consumed in Thine anger, And in Thy fury we have been troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, Our hidden things at the light of Thy face,

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!

BOOK IV

God’s Eternity and Human Frailty

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place[a]
    in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.

Thou turnest man back to the dust,
    and sayest, “Turn back, O children of men!”
For a thousand years in thy sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.

Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream,
    like grass which is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are consumed by thy anger;
    by thy wrath we are overwhelmed.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
    our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

For all our days pass away under thy wrath,
    our years come to an end[b] like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are threescore and ten,
    or even by reason of strength fourscore;
yet their span[c] is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of thy anger,
    and thy wrath according to the fear of thee?
12 So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on thy servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad as many days as thou hast afflicted us,
    and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let thy work be manifest to thy servants,
    and thy glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish thou the work of our hands upon us,
    yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 90:1 Another reading is refuge
  2. Psalm 90:9 Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end
  3. Psalm 90:10 Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride