Mazmur 21:4

21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, ¹ 

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. ² 

Mazmur 34:11-13

34:11 Come children! Listen to me!

I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord. ³ 

34:12 Do you want to really live? ⁴ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ⁵ 

34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words ⁶ 

or use deceptive speech! ⁷ 

Mazmur 91:16

91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, ⁸ 

and will let him see my salvation.

[21:4]  ¹ tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”

[21:4]  ² tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.

[34:11]  ³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord I will teach you.” In vv. 13-14 the psalmist explains to his audience what it means to “fear” the Lord.

[34:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[34:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”

[34:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”

[91:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “length of days.”