Psalms 90:10

90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, ¹ 

or eighty, if one is especially strong. ² 

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. ³ 

Yes, ⁴  they pass quickly ⁵  and we fly away. ⁶ 

Psalms 90:12

90:12 So teach us to consider our mortality, ⁷ 

so that we might live wisely. ⁸ 

[90:10]  ¹ tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”

[90:10]  ² tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”

[90:10]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn or “for.”

[90:10]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).

[90:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “to number our days,” that is, to be aware of how few they really are.

[90:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “and we will bring a heart of wisdom.” After the imperative of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates purpose/result. The Hebrew term “heart” here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character.