Mazmur 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ¹ 

the Lord sits enthroned ²  as the eternal king.

Mazmur 38:4-5

38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; ³ 

like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

38:5 My wounds ⁴  are infected and starting to smell, ⁵ 

because of my foolish sins. ⁶ 

Mazmur 38:10

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ⁷ 

Mazmur 69:23

69:23 May their eyes be blinded! ⁸ 

Make them shake violently! ⁹ 

Mazmur 74:16

74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; ¹⁰ 

you put the moon ¹¹  and sun in place. ¹² 

Mazmur 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ¹³ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 90:1

Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90 ¹⁵ 

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 O Lord, you have been our protector ¹⁶  through all generations!

Mazmur 90:3

90:3 You make mankind return ¹⁷  to the dust, ¹⁸ 

and say, “Return, O people!”

Mazmur 102:11

102:11 My days are coming to an end, ¹⁹ 

and I am withered like grass.

Mazmur 104:18

104:18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; ²⁰ 

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

Mazmur 104:20

104:20 You make it dark and night comes, ²¹ 

during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

Mazmur 119:98

119:98 Your commandments ²²  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

[29:10]  ¹ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[38:4]  ³ tn Heb “pass over my head.”

[38:5]  ⁴ sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.

[38:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).

[38:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”

[38:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

[69:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”

[69:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”

[74:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”

[74:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.

[74:16]  ¹² tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

[89:47]  ¹³ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).

[90:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.

[90:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.

[90:3]  ¹⁷ tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.

[90:3]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (daka’) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.

[102:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.

[104:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”

[104:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”

[119:98]  ²² tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).