Amplified Bible
Psalms 144:4
4Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a shadow that passes away.
Psalms 144:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
- New International Version (NIV)They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
Context of Psalms 144:4
2My [steadfast] lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my rescuer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me. 3Lord, what is man that You take notice of him? Or the son of man that You think of him? Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a shadow that passes away. 5Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. 6Flash lightning and scatter my enemies; Send out Your arrows and confuse and embarrass and frustrate them.
Read all of Psalms 144Psalms 144:4 word by word
אָ֭דָם לַהֶ֣בֶל דָּמָ֑ה יָ֝מָ֗יו כְּצֵ֣ל עוֹבֵֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 144:4
- Psalms 39:5Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths, And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]! Selah.
- Psalms 62:9Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion). In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value]; They are together lighter than a breath.
- Psalms 89:47Remember how fleeting my lifetime is; For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!
- Job 4:19How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay, Whose foundations are in the dust, Who are crushed like a moth.
- Job 14:1“Man, who is born of a woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”
- Ecclesiastes 12:8“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity (futility).”
- Psalms 102:11My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun]; And as for me, I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
- Psalms 109:23I am vanishing like a shadow when it lengthens and fades; I am shaken off like the locust.
- 2 Samuel 14:14For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining].
- Job 8:9For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor].
- Ecclesiastes 8:13But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
Commentaries on Psalms 144:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Man is like to vanity - See the notes at Psalm 39:5-6; Psalm 62:9. The idea here is, that man can be compared only with that which is utterly vain - which is emptiness - which is nothing. His days are as a shadow that passeth away - See the notes at Psalm 102:11: “My days are like a shadow that declineth.” The idea is essentially the same. It is, that as a shadow has no substance, and that as it moves along constantly as the sun declines, until it…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4what is man: The same question in Psalm 8:4–6 leads to the answer that humans are only mortal (they do not live forever), yet God gives them honor and responsibility to rule. The psalmist focuses on how brief and fragile human life is. He describes it as temporary and passing quickly (see Psalms 90:3, 7–10; 102:11; 109:23; 146:4).Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 4his days are as a fleeting shadow Solomon said (Ecc. 6:12): “that he do them like a shadow,” but he did not explain whether [this refers to] the shadow of a palm or the shadow of a wall, which are permanent. His father already explained, “as a fleeting shadow,” the shadow of a flying bird.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 144:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 144
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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