AllPsalms
90

You Have Been Our Dwelling Place

17 versesPrayer and WisdomThe heading attributes it to Moses, the man of God, and calls it a prayer

Psalm 90 summary: what it means

Psalm 90 sets God's eternity beside human frailty. It opens by calling the Lord his people's dwelling place in all generations, God before the mountains were born. Against that, people are like grass that sprouts in the morning and withers by evening. A thousand years are like yesterday to God. The psalm links the shortness of life to God's anger at sin, and puts a lifetime at seventy or eighty years.

The turn comes at verse 12 with a request: teach us to count our days, so we may gain a heart of wisdom. The prayer then asks God to relent, to satisfy his people with loving kindness in the morning, and to make them glad for as many days as they suffered. It ends by asking twice that God establish the work of their hands.

Psalm 90: You Have Been Our Dwelling Place

World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-90

Psalm 90 commentary: explained verse by verse

Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.

The psalm opens with the Lord as a home. He has been his people's dwelling place in all generations. The rest of the psalm rests on this starting point.

Also read Exodus 33:14-19, Isaiah 8:14, Psalm 71:3, Deuteronomy 33:27

Before the mountains were born,before you had formed the earth and the world,even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

God is described as existing before the mountains were born and the earth was formed. He is God from everlasting to everlasting. This is the fixed point against which human life will be measured.

Also read Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 44:6, Psalm 33:9, Psalm 102:24-27

You turn man to destruction, saying,“Return, you children of men.”

God turns people back to destruction with a single word: return, you children of men. Placed straight after verse 2, it sets short human lives beside a God who is from everlasting to everlasting. The command comes from God, so the end of a life is not presented as an accident.

Also read Psalm 104:29, Job 12:10, Numbers 14:35, Psalm 146:4

For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past,like a watch in the night.

A thousand years in God's sight are like yesterday once it is past, or like a watch in the night. Long ages are, to God, as brief as the day just gone. The verse shows how different God's time is from ours.

Also read Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:38, Judges 7:19, Psalm 39:5

You sweep them away as they sleep.In the morning they sprout like new grass.

People are swept away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass. The picture of grass carries into the next verse, where it withers by evening.

Also read 1 Peter 1:24, Job 27:20-21, Jeremiah 46:7-8, James 1:10-11

In the morning it sprouts and springs up.By evening, it is withered and dry.

Also read Matthew 6:30, Job 14:2, James 1:11, Psalm 92:7

For we are consumed in your anger.We are troubled in your wrath.

Also read Psalm 90:11, Hebrews 3:17-2, Hebrews 3:10-11, Psalm 90:9

You have set our iniquities before you,our secret sins in the light of your presence.

God has set his people's iniquities before him, even their secret sins, in the light of his presence. The psalm connects human frailty with this exposure. Nothing is hidden from him.

Also read Ecclesiastes 12:14, Revelation 20:12, Hebrews 4:12-13, Jeremiah 16:17

For all our days have passed away in your wrath.We bring our years to an end as a sigh.

The psalm says all our days pass away under God's wrath, and our years end as a sigh. The KJV has a different picture here: we spend our years as a tale that is told. Both versions describe a life that ends quickly and quietly.

Also read Psalm 39:5, Psalm 90:4, Psalm 78:33

The days of our years are seventy,or even by reason of strength eighty years;yet their pride is but labor and sorrow,for it passes quickly, and we fly away.

The psalm puts a lifetime at seventy years, or eighty for the strong. Even the best of those years are called labour and sorrow. They pass quickly, and we fly away.

Also read Deuteronomy 34:7, 1 Kings 1:1, James 4:14, Job 14:10

Who knows the power of your anger,your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?

The verse asks a question the psalm does not answer: who knows the power of your anger? It ties God's wrath to the fear that is due to him, so the weight of his anger matches the reverence he is owed. It leads straight into verse 12 and the request to count our days.

Also read Leviticus 26:24, Deuteronomy 28:59, Revelation 6:17, Leviticus 26:21

So teach us to count our days,that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

This is the first request in the psalm. Knowing life is short, the writer asks God to teach his people to count their days. The goal is a heart of wisdom, not simply more time.

Also read Proverbs 2:2-6, Proverbs 22:17, Proverbs 23:23, Ecclesiastes 9:10

Relent, LORD!How long?Have compassion on your servants!

The prayer becomes direct. It asks the LORD to relent and have compassion on his servants, and it asks how long. The reflection on human life has turned into a plea.

Also read Amos 7:6, Jeremiah 12:15, Psalm 80:14, Amos 7:3

Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness,that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

The writer asks God to satisfy his people in the morning with his loving kindness. The result would be joy and gladness all their days. Morning here answers the grass that withers by evening in verse 6.

Also read Psalm 36:7-8, Psalm 149:2, Psalm 85:6, Jeremiah 31:15

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,for as many years as we have seen evil.

The request is for gladness to match the suffering. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. The psalm asks for the balance to be restored.

Also read Isaiah 61:3, Deuteronomy 2:14-16, Isaiah 40:1-2, Jeremiah 31:12-13

Let your work appear to your servants,your glory to their children.

Near the end of the psalm, the servants ask to see God's work, and his glory shown to their children. After so many lines about short lives and God's anger, the request looks ahead to the next generation. It prepares for the closing plea in verse 17 to establish the work of our hands.

Also read Deuteronomy 32:4, Numbers 14:15-24, Psalm 92:4, Numbers 14:30-31

Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us.Establish the work of our hands for us.Yes, establish the work of our hands.

The psalm ends by asking for the favour of the Lord to be on his people. It asks twice that God establish the work of their hands. After so much about passing days, the final hope is that their work will last.

Also read Psalm 110:3, 1 Corinthians 3:7, Psalm 50:2, Psalm 27:4

A prayer from Psalm 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. Before the mountains were born, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. A thousand years in your sight are like yesterday, and my life is like grass that sprouts in the morning and is dry by evening. You see my secret sins in the light of your presence. So teach me to count my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Relent, LORD, and have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, so that we may rejoice all our days. Let your favor be on us, and establish the work of our hands. Amen.

Psalm 90 Bible study questions

  1. In verses 4 to 6, what pictures does the psalm use to show how short a human life is compared with God?
  2. In verse 12, what does the writer ask God to teach, and what result does he hope for?
  3. Verse 12 asks God to teach us to count our days; how might counting your days change the way you spend them?
  4. Verse 17 asks twice for God to establish the work of our hands; what work of yours would you most want to last?
  5. Psalm 39:4 also asks God to show the measure of the writer's days; how does that request compare with Psalm 90:12?

Questions about Psalm 90

Who wrote Psalm 90?

The heading attributes it to Moses, the man of God, and calls it a prayer.

What does Psalm 90 mean?

It contrasts God, who is from everlasting to everlasting, with human life, which passes like grass. It asks God to teach his people to count their days wisely, to show them his loving kindness, and to establish the work of their hands.

What does Psalm 90:12 mean?

It asks God to teach his people to count their days, so that they may gain a heart of wisdom. Because life is short, the psalm asks to live it wisely.

What is Psalm 90:12 in the KJV?

The King James Version reads: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

What is Psalm 90:10 in the KJV?

The King James Version reads: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

What does Psalm 90:17 mean?

It asks for God's favour on his people and twice asks him to establish the work of their hands, so that what they do will last. The King James Version has "the beauty of the LORD our God" where the World English Bible has favour.

Psalm 90 KJV: the King James Version

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.1

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

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

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

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

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

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.7

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.8

For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.9

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.10

Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.11

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.12

Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.13

O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.14

Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.15

Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.16

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.17

Psalm 90 in Hebrew

The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.

Show the text

1 תְּפִלָּה֮ לְמֹשֶׁ֪ה אִֽישׁ־הָאֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים אֲֽדֹנָ֗י מָע֣וֹן אַ֭תָּה הָיִ֥יתָ לָּ֗נוּ בְּדֹ֣ר וָדֹֽר׃

2 בְּטֶ֤רֶם ׀ הָ֘רִ֤ים יֻלָּ֗דוּ וַתְּח֣וֹלֵֽל אֶ֣רֶץ וְתֵבֵ֑ל וּֽמֵעוֹלָ֥ם עַד־ע֝וֹלָ֗ם אַתָּ֥ה אֵֽל׃

3 תָּשֵׁ֣ב אֱ֭נוֹשׁ עַד־דַּכָּ֑א וַ֝תֹּ֗אמֶר שׁ֣וּבוּ בְנֵי־אָדָֽם׃

4 כִּ֤י אֶ֪לֶף שָׁנִ֡ים בְּֽעֵינֶ֗יךָ כְּי֣וֹם אֶ֭תְמוֹל כִּ֣י יַעֲבֹ֑ר וְאַשְׁמוּרָ֥ה בַלָּֽיְלָה׃

5 זְ֭רַמְתָּם שֵׁנָ֣ה יִהְי֑וּ בַּ֝בֹּ֗קֶר כֶּחָצִ֥יר יַחֲלֹֽף׃

6 בַּ֭בֹּקֶר יָצִ֣יץ וְחָלָ֑ף לָ֝עֶ֗רֶב יְמוֹלֵ֥ל וְיָבֵֽשׁ׃

7 כִּֽי־כָלִ֥ינוּ בְאַפֶּ֑ךָ וּֽבַחֲמָתְךָ֥ נִבְהָֽלְנוּ׃

8 שת עֲוֺנֹתֵ֣ינוּ לְנֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ עֲ֝לֻמֵ֗נוּ לִמְא֥וֹר פָּנֶֽיךָ׃

9 כִּ֣י כָל־יָ֭מֵינוּ פָּנ֣וּ בְעֶבְרָתֶ֑ךָ כִּלִּ֖ינוּ שָׁנֵ֣ינוּ כְמוֹ־הֶֽגֶה׃

10 יְמֵֽי־שְׁנוֹתֵ֨ינוּ בָהֶ֥ם שִׁבְעִ֪ים שָׁנָ֡ה וְאִ֤ם בִּגְבוּרֹ֨ת ׀ שְׁמ֘וֹנִ֤ים שָׁנָ֗ה וְ֭רָהְבָּם עָמָ֣ל וָאָ֑וֶן כִּי־גָ֥ז חִ֝֗ישׁ וַנָּעֻֽפָה׃

11 מִֽי־י֭וֹדֵעַ עֹ֣ז אַפֶּ֑ךָ וּ֝כְיִרְאָתְךָ֗ עֶבְרָתֶֽךָ׃

12 לִמְנ֣וֹת יָ֭מֵינוּ כֵּ֣ן הוֹדַ֑ע וְ֝נָבִ֗א לְבַ֣ב חָכְמָֽה׃

13 שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה עַד־מָתָ֑י וְ֝הִנָּחֵ֗ם עַל־עֲבָדֶֽיךָ׃

14 שַׂבְּעֵ֣נוּ בַבֹּ֣קֶר חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וּֽנְרַנְּנָ֥ה וְ֝נִשְׂמְחָ֗ה בְּכָל־יָמֵֽינוּ ׃

15 שַׂ֭מְּחֵנוּ כִּימ֣וֹת עִנִּיתָ֑נוּ שְׁ֝נ֗וֹת רָאִ֥ינוּ רָעָֽה׃

16 יֵרָאֶ֣ה אֶל־עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ פָעֳלֶ֑ךָ וַ֝הֲדָרְךָ֗ עַל־בְּנֵיהֶֽם׃

17 וִיהִ֤י ׀ נֹ֤עַם אֲדֹנָ֥י אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ עָ֫לֵ֥ינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָ֭דֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָ֥ה עָלֵ֑ינוּ וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָ֝דֵ֗ינוּ כּוֹנְנֵֽהוּ׃

Psalm 90 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible

The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 89 there.

Show the text

1 A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation.

2 Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was formed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.

3 Turn not man away to be brought low: and thou hast said: Be converted, O ye sons of men.

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past. And as a watch in the night,

5 Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.

6 In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away: in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither.

7 For in thy wrath we have fainted away: and are troubled in thy indignation.

8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes: our life in the light of thy countenance.

9 For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted away. Our years shall be considered as a spider:

10 The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years. But if in the strong they be fourscore years: and what is more of them is labour and sorrow. For mildness is come upon us: and we shall be corrected.

11 Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear

12 Can number thy wrath? So make thy right hand known: and men learned in heart, in wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and be entreated in favour of thy servants.

14 We are filled in the morning with thy mercy: and we have rejoiced, and are delighted all our days.

15 We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us: for the years in which we have seen evils.

16 Look upon thy servants and upon their works: and direct their children.

17 And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us: and direct thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands do thou direct.

Psalm 90 in Latin

The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 89.

Show the text

1 Oratio Moysi, hominis Dei. Domine, refugium factus es nobis a generatione in generationem.

2 Priusquam montes fierent, aut formaretur terra et orbis, a sæculo et usque in sæculum tu es, Deus.

3 Ne avertas hominem in humilitatem: et dixisti: Convertimini, filii hominum.

4 Quoniam mille anni ante oculos tuos tamquam dies hesterna quæ præteriit: et custodia in nocte

5 quæ pro nihilo habentur, eorum anni erunt.

6 Mane sicut herba transeat; mane floreat, et transeat; vespere decidat, induret, et arescat.

7 Quia defecimus in ira tua, et in furore tuo turbati sumus.

8 Posuisti iniquitates nostras in conspectu tuo; sæculum nostrum in illuminatione vultus tui.

9 Quoniam omnes dies nostri defecerunt, et in ira tua defecimus. Anni nostri sicut aranea meditabuntur;

10 dies annorum nostrorum in ipsis septuaginta anni. Si autem in potentatibus octoginta anni, et amplius eorum labor et dolor; quoniam supervenit mansuetudo, et corripiemur.

11 Quis novit potestatem iræ tuæ, et præ timore tuo iram tuam

12 dinumerare? Dexteram tuam sic notam fac, et eruditos corde in sapientia.

13 Convertere, Domine; usquequo? et deprecabilis esto super servos tuos.

14 Repleti sumus mane misericordia tua; et exsultavimus, et delectati sumus omnibus diebus nostris.

15 Lætati sumus pro diebus quibus nos humiliasti; annis quibus vidimus mala.

16 Respice in servos tuos et in opera tua, et dirige filios eorum.

17 Et sit splendor Domini Dei nostri super nos, et opera manuum nostrarum dirige super nos, et opus manuum nostrarum dirige.

Printable Psalm 90: free, large print and PDF

Print Psalm 90 for free: the whole psalm or only the verses you tick. Choose regular, large or extra large print, and a plain page, a framed sheet to hang on the wall or a verse card, in the World English Bible or the King James Version. To keep a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window. Nothing to sign up for.

Psalm 90 at a glance

Verses17
Heading in the textA Prayer by Moses, the man of God.
Attributed toThe heading attributes it to Moses, the man of God, and calls it a prayer.
TypePrayer and Wisdom
Number in Greek and Latin BiblesPsalm 89

Read Psalm 90 when you are facing

wisdomworkdeath of a loved one

Psalm 90 in other translations

This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 90 in those translations at Bible Gateway.

Where Psalm 90 belongs

Psalms of MosesBook 4 of the Psalms

How this page was made

The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.

Sources

LP

Written by

Lucas Pradella

Last checked 25 September 2026 · How pages are checked

I built AllPsalms because I could not find one site that covered all 150 psalms properly. I am a Christian and a reader of the psalms, not a scholar or a minister. What I can do is the work: put every psalm in one place, in plain English, with the text unedited and every claim sourced.

More about this site

Psalm 89All 150Psalm 91