Mazmur 90:4-6

90:4 Yes, ¹  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ² 

90:5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” ³ 

In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;

90:6 in the morning it glistens ⁴  and sprouts up;

at evening time it withers ⁵  and dries up.

[90:4]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[90:4]  ² sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

[90:5]  ³ tn Heb “you bring them to an end [with] sleep.” The Hebrew verb זָרַם (zaram) has traditionally been taken to mean “flood” or “overwhelm” (note the Polel form of a root זרם in Ps 77:17, where the verb is used of the clouds pouring down rain). However, the verb form here is Qal, not Polel, and is better understood as a homonym meaning “to make an end [of life].” The term שֵׁנָה (shenah, “sleep”) can be taken as an adverbial accusative; it is a euphemism here for death (see Ps 76:5-6).

[90:6]  ⁴ tn Or “flourishes.” The verb is used of a crown shining in Ps 132:18. Perhaps here in Ps 90:6 it refers to the glistening of the grass in the morning dew.

[90:6]  ⁵ tn The Polel form of this verb occurs only here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a Qal (which necessitates eliminating the final lamed [ל] as dittographic). See Ps 37:2.