Psalms 78:38-39

78:38 Yet he is compassionate.

He forgives sin and does not destroy.

He often holds back his anger,

and does not stir up his fury. ¹ 

78:39 He remembered ²  that they were made of flesh,

and were like a wind that blows past and does not return. ³ 

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ⁴ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ⁵ 

[78:38]  ¹ tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.

[78:39]  ² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive signals a return to the narrative.

[78:39]  ³ tn Heb “and he remembered that they [were] flesh, a wind [that] goes and does not return.”

[89:47]  ⁴ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ⁵ tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).