Psalms 90:4 (LSB)

Passage

For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

Nearby Context

Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born Or You brought forth the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Psalms 90:3 You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O sons of men.”

Psalms 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

Psalms 90:5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.

Psalms 90:6 In the morning it blossoms and sprouts anew; Toward evening it withers away and dries up.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thousand", "years", "sight", "like", "yesterday", "passes", "watch", and "night". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thousand" and "years", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "You turn man back into dust And..." into verse 5's "You have swept them away like a...", so "thousand" and "years" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thousand" and "years" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.