Psalms 90:5-6

90:5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” ¹ 

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

90:6 in the morning it glistens ²  and sprouts up;

at evening time it withers ³  and dries up.

Psalms 92:2

92:2 It is fitting ⁴  to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,

and your faithfulness during the night,

Psalms 90:14

90:14 Satisfy us in the morning ⁵  with your loyal love!

Then we will shout for joy and be happy ⁶  all our days!

Psalms 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ⁷ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ⁸ 

because I long for you. ⁹ 

[90:5]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[92:2]  ³ tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[90:14]  ⁴ sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).

[90:14]  ⁵ tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.

[143:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  ⁶ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).