Psalms 90:4 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Psalms 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Psalms 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Psalms 90:5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

Psalms 90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thousand", "years", "sight", "yesterday", "past", "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 "Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest..." into verse 5's "Thou carriest them away as with 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.