Psalms 80:13

80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;

the insects of the field feed on it.

Psalms 103:15

103:15 A person’s life is like grass.

Like a flower in the field it flourishes,

Psalms 104:11

104:11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.


tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.

tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word translated “insects,” which occurs only here and in Ps 50:11, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.

tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.