Psalms 102:26

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ¹ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ² 

Psalms 90:5-6

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.

[102:26]  ¹ tn Heb “stand.”

[102:26]  ² tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

[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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.