Psalms 90
1 BOOK FOURTH: “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” Lord, a place of refuge hast thou been unto us in all generations.
A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been a home to us one generation after another.
2 Before yet the mountains were brought forth, or thou hadst ever produced the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Before the mountains were born, or the earth and the world were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 Thou turnest man to contrition, and sayest, Return ye children of men.
You bring us back to the dust, you summon mortals to return.
4 For a thousand years are in thy eyes but as the yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
For you see a thousand years as the passing of yesterday, as a watch in the night.
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning [they grow] like the grass which changeth.
Your floods sweep them away; they are like a dream, or like grass which sprouts in the morning,
6 In the morning it blossometh, and is changed: in the evening it is mowed off, and withereth.
which blossoms and sprouts in the morning, but by evening is cut and withered.
7 For [thus] are we consumed by thy anger, and by thy fury are we terrified.
For your anger consumes us, the heat of your wrath confounds us.
8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our concealed sins before the light of thy countenance.
Our sins you have set before you, our secrets in the light of your face.
9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we consume our years like a word that is spoken.
For through your wrath our days are declining, we bring our years to an end as a sigh.
10 The days of our years in this life are seventy years; and if by uncommon vigor they be eighty, yet is their greatness trouble and mishap; for it soon hasteneth off, and we fly away.
The span of our life is seventy years, or, if we are strong, maybe eighty; yet is their breadth but empty toil, for swiftly they go, and we fly away.
11 Who knoweth the strength of thy anger, and thy wrath which is like the fear of thee?
Who lays to heart the power of your anger? Or who stands in reverent awe of your wrath?
12 Let us then know how to number our days, that we may obtain a heart endowed with wisdom.
O teach us to count our days so our minds may learn wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long yet? and bethink thee concerning thy servants.
Return, O Lord; why so long? Relent on your servants.
14 O satisfy us in the morning with thy kindness, that we may be glad and rejoice throughout all our days.
Grant us your love to the full in the morning, that all our days we may shout for joy.
15 Cause us to rejoice as many days as those wherein thou hast afflicted us, the years wherein we have seen unhappiness.
Make us glad for the days you have humbled us, for the evil years we have seen.
16 Let thy act be visible on thy servants, and thy majesty over their children.
Let your servants see you in action, show your majesty to their children.
17 And may the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and the work of our hands do thou firmly establish upon us: yea, the work of our hands—firmly establish thou it.
Let the grace of the Lord our God be upon us, uphold what our hands are striving to do.
