Psalms 91:5

91:5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, ¹ 

the arrow that flies by day,

Psalms 18:10

18:10 He mounted ²  a winged angel ³  and flew;

he glided ⁴  on the wings of the wind. ⁵ 

Psalms 55:6

55:6 I say, ⁶  “I wish I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

Psalms 90:10

90:10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, ⁷ 

or eighty, if one is especially strong. ⁸ 

But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. ⁹ 

Yes, ¹⁰  they pass quickly ¹¹  and we fly away. ¹² 

[91:5]  ¹ tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).

[18:10]  ² tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ³ tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  ⁴ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ⁵ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[55:6]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.

[90:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”

[90:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”

[90:10]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn or “for.”

[90:10]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).