Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This prayer isn't just asking for equal time between joy and suffering, but for a deep restoration that mirrors the prolonged duration of hardship. It’s a plea for God’s goodness to be so overwhelmingly present that it doesn't just balance, but truly outweighs, the years of sorrow.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This prayer is found within a psalm that reflects on the brevity of human life and the enduring faithfulness of God, contrasting human frailty with divine permanence. Following reflections on mortality and God's judgment, the speaker pleads for God's compassion and asks for a restoration of joy and blessing to counteract the long years of suffering and hardship they have endured. This verse is a direct request for a future of gladness that balances out the painful past.
Life can feel like a constant battle, with more difficult days than good ones. How does God respond to our struggles?
This verse is a heartfelt plea, not just for relief, but for a specific kind of restoration. The psalmist asks God to make them glad in proportion to their suffering.
Sometimes it feels like troubles never end. This verse acknowledges a reality many of us know all too well.
The psalmist isn't just talking about a bad week or a difficult month. The language 'days' and 'years' points to prolonged periods of suffering and hardship.
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Understand the original words
anah · Hebrew Verb
Refers to the experience of misery, trouble, or humbling circumstances. In a biblical context, it is often permitted by God to discipline His people or to draw them to dependence on Him.
ra'ah · Hebrew Noun
Encompasses moral wickedness, calamity, distress, or general adversity. It often refers to the trials of life in a fallen world that require God's intervention.
This psalm reflects a deep longing for restoration after the prolonged suffering of the Babylonian exile, praying that God's future joy and blessing would far outweigh the seventy years of hardship and 'evil' experienced by His people.
c. 1446 BC
Exodus from Egypt
Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, a pivotal event of liberation and God's powerful intervention.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Canaan
The Israelites enter and begin to conquer the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership after forty years in the wilderness.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The Assyrian Empire conquers the northern kingdom of Israel, exiling many of its inhabitants.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem
The Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar conquers Judah and destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, leading to the Babylonian exile.
c. 538 BC— this verse
Return from Exile
Under Cyrus the Great of Persia, a decree allows Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, ending the Babylonian captivity.
c. 444 BC
Rebuilding Jerusalem's Walls
Nehemiah leads the effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, a symbol of restoration and renewed hope after the exile.
This passage directly echoes the sentiment of Psalm 90:15, promising a double portion of restoration and joy to those who have suffered, mirroring the desire for prosperity to outweigh past afflictions.
Jeremiah 29:10-11This prophecy speaks to a future restoration after exile, aligning with the lament in Psalm 90 for God's turning away and the prayer for a return to gladness and prosperity after years of suffering.
Romans 8:18Paul reflects on how present sufferings are not worth comparing to the future glory that will be revealed, offering a New Testament perspective on how God balances affliction with an immeasurable future joy.
2 Corinthians 4:17This verse emphasizes that the light and momentary troubles of this life are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, resonating with the prayer for God to make gladness proportionate to the length and severity of past afflictions.
pulpitPsalms 90:15: "Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil."
Verse 15. - Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us. Proportion our time of joy to our time of sorrow: as the one has lasted many long years, so let the other. And the years wherein we have seen evil; or, "suffered adversity."
clarkePsalms 90:15: "Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil."
Psalm 90:15Make us glad according to the days - Let thy people have as many years of prosperity as they have had of adversity. We have now suffered seventy years of a most distressful captivity.
This prayer isn't just asking for equal time between joy and suffering, but for a deep restoration that mirrors the prolonged duration of hardship. It’s a plea for God’s goodness to be so overwhelmingly present that it doesn't just balance, but truly outweighs, the years of sorrow.
This prayer is found within a psalm that reflects on the brevity of human life and the enduring faithfulness of God, contrasting human frailty with divine permanence. Following reflections on mortality and God's judgment, the speaker pleads for God's compassion and asks for a restoration of joy and blessing to counteract the long years of suffering and hardship they have endured. This verse is a direct request for a future of gladness that balances out the painful past.
This prayer is found within a psalm that reflects on the brevity of human life and the enduring faithfulness of God, contrasting human frailty with divine permanence. Following reflections on mortality and God's judgment, the speaker pleads for God's compassion and asks for a restoration of joy and blessing to counteract the long years of suffering and hardship they have endured. This verse is a direct request for a future of gladness that balances out the painful past.
"Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil." — This prayer isn't just asking for equal time between joy and suffering, but for a deep restoration that mirrors the prolonged duration of hardship. It’s a plea for God’s goodness to be so overwhelm…
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Last reviewed October 2026