The Meaning of Psalms 90:3 Explained

Psalms 90:3

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

YLT: Thou turnest man unto a bruised thing, And sayest, Turn back, ye sons of men.

Darby: Thou makest mortal man to return to dust, and sayest, Return, children of men.

ASV: Thou turnest man to destruction, And sayest, Return, ye children of men.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Psalms 90:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 90:1-17 - The Message Of The Passing Years
The majestic music of this great psalm separates it from all the rest. It is like the deep bass stop of a mighty organ. Moses' authorship is stamped upon it. It is worthy of the man who had seen God face to face.
Psalms 90:1-6. The transitoriness of human life is contrasted with the stability of God. He is the asylum and home of all the generations of mankind, Deuteronomy 33:27. The earth and its mountains the universe and its worlds, were born of Him; but He Himself had no origin, no beginning. Time is but a sigh, a breath, the swift rush of the mountain-torrent, a tale told by the camp-fire at night, the grass of a morning's growth.
Psalms 90:7-12. A wail is borne in these verses from the forty years of wanderings. The ceaseless succession of graves was the bitter harvest of Israel's rebellions. Oh, that we might apply our hearts to wisdom that we may not fail of God's rest!
Psalms 90:13-17. In the closing words Moses utters a sublime prayer which includes us all. Let us seek to do some good work before we go, and may our children be a nobler generation than ourselves! But all beauty of character and permanence of work must emanate from God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 90

1  Moses, setting forth God's providence
3  Complains of human fragility
7  Divine chastisement
10  and brevity of life
12  He prays for the knowledge and sensible experience of God's good providence

What do the individual words in Psalms 90:3 mean?

You turn man to destruction and say Return children of men
תָּשֵׁ֣ב אֱ֭נוֹשׁ עַד־ דַּכָּ֑א וַ֝תֹּ֗אמֶר שׁ֣וּבוּ בְנֵי־ אָדָֽם

תָּשֵׁ֣ב  You  turn 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
אֱ֭נוֹשׁ  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
דַּכָּ֑א  destruction 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דַּכָּא 
Sense: dust (adj).
וַ֝תֹּ֗אמֶר  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
שׁ֣וּבוּ  Return 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
בְנֵי־  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אָדָֽם  of  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.