Psalms 31:12

31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; ¹ 

I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. ² 

Psalms 78:57

78:57 They were unfaithful ³  and acted as treacherously as ⁴  their ancestors;

they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. ⁵ 

Psalms 90:5

90:5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” ⁶ 

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

[31:12]  ¹ tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.

[31:12]  ² tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.

[78:57]  ³ tn Heb “they turned back.”

[78:57]  ⁴ tn Or “acted treacherously like.”

[78:57]  ⁵ tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”

[90:5]  ⁵ 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).