Maggie's Farm

In addition to the distressing habit of truncating a poem - which in this case leaves out the motivation of the speaker's plea to God to "relent"... This is a flowery and innaccurate translation.

12. Word translated as "so" means "surely"
To count our days You surely taught, to cause understanding hearts.

13. This is literally "REturn oh Lord until when" but it works in Hebrew to mean "when will You return to us". Hebrew usually accents the last syllable - this jumbled word order breaks the meter by starting with the emphatic, imperative word for "Return" - "SHUva" - which stresses the first syllable. So the rhythm is closer to the (mis)translation "Turn oh Lord".

The word translated as "have compassion" actually means to relent from a planned action or regret a past action. It is used to describe G-d regretting the creation of man in the Noah story, and relenting after the golden calf - acceeding to Moses' pleas and not destroying the people. G-d also uses this word to tell Samuel "I regret making Saul king". The root meaning "to comfort".

Without the 1st part of the psalm its significance is lost...

(Many quills have been broken over this word - which implies that G-d can change His mind. That is a big no-no for Maimonidean philosophers....)

14. "Steadfast love" is (unearned) lovingkindess.

17. "favor" is "pleasance". "Prosper" is "establish" - from a word meaning "foundation"