Psalm 90 4

Psalm 90:4 kjv

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Psalm 90:4 nkjv

For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.

Psalm 90:4 niv

A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

Psalm 90:4 esv

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

Psalm 90:4 nlt

For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.

Psalm 90 verses

Psalm 90 4 Meaning

Psalm 90:4 proclaims the immeasurable difference between divine and human perception of time. From God's eternal perspective, a millennium, which is an immense period for humanity, is as fleeting as a single day that has passed or even a mere watch in the night (a fraction of a night). It profoundly emphasizes God's transcendence over all temporal limitations, underscoring His eternal nature while implicitly highlighting the brevity and temporal confinement of human existence.

Psalm 90 4 Context

Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, making it the oldest psalm. Its central theme is a lament on the brevity of human life contrasted with God's eternal nature and faithfulness. This specific verse (90:4) serves as a foundational theological statement within the psalm, explaining why human life is so short from a divine perspective. The psalm follows a plea for understanding God's wrath and a petition for God to restore His favor upon His people who have faced forty years of wilderness wandering and death due to their rebellion. The backdrop of this context is God's judgment leading to an entire generation perishing in the desert, where life spans were strictly measured and cut short. This verse underscores the vast chasm between human mortality and divine timelessness, offering a profound commentary on life's brevity under the gaze of an eternal God. It might also implicitly critique any ancient Near Eastern beliefs that attributed eternality or ultimate power to mortal kings or finite gods tied to temporal cycles.

Psalm 90 4 Word analysis

• For (כי - ki): Connective particle; indicates a reason, explanation, or emphatic affirmation for the previous statements about human frailty.
• a thousand years (אלף שנה - eleph shanah): eleph (thousand) signifies a large, complete number, representing a vast stretch of human-perceived time. shanah (year) is a common unit of time. Together, it denotes an exceedingly long period for mortals.
• in Your sight (בעיניך - b'eineykha): b' (in), ayin (eye), ykha (your). An anthropomorphic expression indicating God's perspective, not that God literally has eyes. It highlights God's transcendent perception, fundamentally different from limited human experience and understanding. It stresses His perfect, comprehensive knowledge beyond time.
• are like yesterday (כיום אתמול - k'yom etmol): k' (like/as), yom (day), etmol (yesterday). This phrase draws a comparison to an immediately past day, highlighting its transient and easily dismissed nature. From God's perspective, a millennium holds no more weight or endurance than something already completed and gone.
• when it passes by (כי יעבור - ki ya'avor): ki (when), ya'avor (it passes/moves on). Reinforces the transient quality of "yesterday," emphasizing its swift and complete disappearance. It implies an effortlessly swift passing, as if time for God moves with infinite speed.
• or as (ואשמורה - v'ashmurah): v' (and/or), ashmurah (a watch). A "watch" (ashmurah) was a division of the night, typically 3-4 hours. In ancient Israel, there were often three such watches (or four later on). This serves as an even stronger image of brevity than "yesterday," as it's only a segment of a day, a fleeting moment that barely registers. It compounds the brevity.
• in the night (בלילה - balayla): b' (in), layla (night). Specifies the type of "watch," further cementing the imagery of a period easily gone and unnoticed as the darkness gives way to dawn.

Psalm 90 4 Bonus section

The verse subtly contains a polemic against any worldview that measures existence, power, or significance purely by human-centric timelines. It re-establishes God as the ultimate measure, superior to all created things and temporal rulers. This understanding of God's timelessness also undergirds His boundless patience and His steadfastness in keeping His promises, even when they seem long delayed from a human perspective, as seen in the New Testament echo of this verse (2 Pet 3:8) concerning the Lord's return. The concept here contributes to the awe-inspiring majesty of God's being, utterly unique and distinct from humanity.

Psalm 90 4 Commentary

Psalm 90:4 stands as a profound theological statement on the nature of God's relationship with time. It is not merely a poetic expression but a fundamental truth about His eternal existence. God is not bound by the chronological constraints that govern creation and human life. While "a thousand years" signifies an immense duration to finite beings, to the eternal God, it is akin to a fleeting moment that has already passed, easily receding into memory or forgotten, like a 'yesterday' or even shorter, 'a watch in the night'. This emphasizes His absolute sovereignty over time itself. His perception transcends and encompasses all of time, for He is its creator, not its subject. The verse provides comfort by establishing God's stability in a world of change, while also challenging human pride by contrasting our brief lifespan with His endless one. It serves as a potent reminder of our mortality and dependence on a timeless Creator.