Having said in verse 14 what human beings are made of (dust), the psalmist now expands on this theme, contrasting human frailty and mortality (verses 15-16) with the LORD’s eternal love and goodness (verses 17-18). The word for man in verse 15a is the same as in 8.4a: a mortal, weak creature, whose life span is compared to that of grass, of a flower of the field, which is dried up by the hot desert wind and is seen no more. See the same figure in 90.5-6; Isaiah 40.6-8. As in Good News Translation 90.5, here “weeds” would be more appropriate in English than grass. Good News Translation has avoided the possibility of man being interpreted in exclusive terms, by using “us.” In translation, if “us” is used, it will be necessary to make it inclusive, since the psalm is addressed to people, not to God. In languages where the comparison may not be recognized, it may be necessary to say, for example, “a person’s life is short, it passes quickly away like grass.”

Since it is the drying or withering effect of the wind that causes the flower to disappear, it may be necessary in translating verse 16a to say, for example, “then the wind blows and dries it up, and the flower disappears” or “the drying wind blows on the flower and soon it is gone.”

In verse 16b the Hebrew is and its place knows it no more, a way of saying that it is completely gone, never to return; see Bible en français courant “it disappears without leaving a trace.” Some translations (Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Dahood) take the pronouns in verse 16 to refer to man; it seems better to take them to refer to “the wild flower” (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New International Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .