2 Samuel 11:25

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ¹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ²  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁴ 

Job 30:23

30:23 I know that you are bringing ⁵  me to death,

to the meeting place for all the living.

Job 34:15

34:15 all flesh would perish together

and human beings would return to dust.

Psalms 90:3

90:3 You make mankind return ⁶  to the dust, ⁷ 

and say, “Return, O people!”

Psalms 90:10

90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, ⁸ 

or eighty, if one is especially strong. ⁹ 

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. ¹⁰ 

Yes, ¹¹  they pass quickly ¹²  and we fly away. ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

3:19 For the fate of humans ¹⁴  and the fate of animals are the same:

As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath.

There is no advantage for humans over animals,

for both are fleeting.

3:20 Both go to the same place,

both come from the dust,

and to dust both return.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything;

they have no further reward – and even the memory of them disappears. ¹⁵ 

Hebrews 9:27

9:27 And just as people ¹⁶  are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, ¹⁷ 

[11:25]  ¹ tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”

[11:25]  ² tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”

[11:25]  ³ tn Heb “overthrow.”

[11:25]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[30:23]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.

[90:3]  ⁶ tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.

[90:3]  ⁷ 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.

[90:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”

[90:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”

[90:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their pride [is] destruction and wickedness.” The Hebrew noun רֹהַב (rohav) occurs only here. BDB 923 s.v. assigns the meaning “pride,” deriving the noun from the verbal root רהב (“to act stormily [boisterously, arrogantly]”). Here the “pride” of one’s days (see v. 9) probably refers to one’s most productive years in the prime of life. The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 10:7. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10. The oppressive and abusive actions of evil men are probably in view (see Job 4:8; 5:6; 15:35; Isa 10:1; 59:4).

[90:10]  ¹¹ tn or “for.”

[90:10]  ¹² tn Heb “it passes quickly.” The subject of the verb is probably “their pride” (see the preceding line). The verb גּוּז (guz) means “to pass” here; it occurs only here and in Num 11:31.

[90:10]  ¹³ sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).

[3:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “of the sons of man.”

[9:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for their memory is forgotten.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, “memory of them.”

[9:27]  ¹⁶ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[9:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”