Discovery BoxPsalms 103:9-16 
Context103:9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry. 1
103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; 2
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 3
103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers 4 over his faithful followers. 5
103:12 As far as the eastern horizon 6 is from the west, 7
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions 8 from us.
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, 9
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 10
103:14 For he knows what we are made of; 11
he realizes 12 we are made of clay. 13
103:15 A person’s life is like grass. 14
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
103:16 but when the hot wind 15 blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
1 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
2 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
3 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
4 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
5 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
6 tn Heb “sunrise.”
7 tn Or “sunset.”
8 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
9 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
10 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
11 tn Heb “our form.”
12 tn Heb “remembers.”
13 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
14 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.
15 tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
