Psalms 103:10-18

103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; ¹ 

he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. ² 

103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,

so his loyal love towers ³  over his faithful followers. ⁴ 

103:12 As far as the eastern horizon ⁵  is from the west, ⁶ 

so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions ⁷  from us.

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ⁸ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ⁹ 

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ¹⁰ 

he realizes ¹¹  we are made of clay. ¹² 

103:15 A person’s life is like grass. ¹³ 

Like a flower in the field it flourishes,

103:16 but when the hot wind ¹⁴  blows by, it disappears,

and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ¹⁵ 

and is faithful to their descendants, ¹⁶ 

103:18 to those who keep his covenant,

who are careful to obey his commands. ¹⁷ 

[103:10]  ¹ tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”

[103:10]  ² tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”

[103:11]  ³ tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[103:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “sunrise.”

[103:12]  ⁶ tn Or “sunset.”

[103:12]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.

[103:13]  ⁷ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”

[103:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.

[103:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[103:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[103:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”