Psalms 39:5

Psalms 39:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
• New International Version (NIV)You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
• New King James Version (NKJV)Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

Context of Psalms 39:5

3It was like a fire inside me! As I thought more about it, I just had to say something! So I said this: 4‘Lord, tell me about my life. Tell me how long it will be, and when it will finish. I need to remember that life is only short. Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few! The time that I live seems very short to you. Human life is only a breath, even for those who seem to be strong. Selah. 6As we live, we are just like shadows. We work to get things for ourselves. We may get a lot of money, but we do not know who will have it after we die.’ 7So, my Lord, what help can I hope to get? You are the only one that I can really trust!

Psalms 39:5 word by word

הִנֵּ֤ה טְפָח֨וֹת׀ נָ֘תַ֤תָּה יָמַ֗י וְחֶלְדִּ֣י כְאַ֣יִן נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ אַ֥ךְ כָּֽל־הֶ֥בֶל כָּל־אָ֝דָ֗ם נִצָּ֥ב סֶֽלָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, thou hast madeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
• my daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• an handbreadthטֶ֫פַחţêphach · handbreadthH2947
• and mine ageחֶ֫לֶדcheled · lifetime/worldH2465
• as nothing before thee: verily everyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• at his best stateנָצַבnâtsab · to standH5324
• vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• Selahסֶ֫לָהselâh · SelahH5542

Cross-references for Psalms 39:5

• Psalms 90:4For you, a thousand years is only a short time. They pass as quickly as a day for you, or just a few hours in the night.
• Genesis 47:9Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and they have been difficult. I have not lived for as long as my ancestors lived.’
• Job 7:6My life is passing very fast. Each day passes too quickly to see it! The days of my life will finish, and I cannot hope for anything to get better.
• Job 9:25The days of my life are passing very quickly, like a fast runner. None of my days makes me happy.
• Job 14:1Everyone that a woman gives birth to lives only for a short time. The days of his life are full of trouble.
• James 4:14You do not know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a cloud which appears for a short time and then it quickly goes away.
• Psalms 89:47Remember that my life is very short! People are weak and their lives seem useless. Why do you make people like that?
• 2 Peter 3:8My friends, here is one thing that you must remember. In the Lord God's mind, one day and 1,000 years are the same. For him, 1,000 years is like a single day.
• Psalms 39:11When people do wrong things, you warn them and you punish them. You destroy their valuable things, like a moth eats cloth! Yes, our lives are only a breath! Selah.
• Psalms 62:9People are only as light as a breath! Whoever they are, they are not important. If you try to weigh them, all together, they weigh less than a breath of air.
• Psalms 144:4People soon pass away, just like a breath. Their life is like a shadow that soon goes.
• Ecclesiastes 1:2The Teacher says, ‘Nothing has a purpose. Nothing that ever happens has a purpose.’
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I thought about everything that I had done, and all my hard work. After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose. I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind. None of the things on earth have any value.
• Isaiah 40:17All the nations in the world are not important to the Lord. He sees them as empty and useless.

Commentaries on Psalms 39:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5My days as a handbreadth - My life is but a span; . And mine age is as nothing - כאין keein, as if at were not before thee. All time is swallowed up in thy eternity. Verily every man at his best state - נצב אדם כל col adam nitstab, "every man that exists, is vanity." All his projects, plans, schemes, etc., soon come to nothing. His body also moulders with the dust, and shortly passes both from the sight and remembrance of men.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth - literally, “Lo, handbreadths hast thou given my days.” The word rendered “handbreadth” means properly the spread hand; the palm; the hand when the four fingers are expanded. The word is then used to denote anything very short or brief. It is one of the smallest natural measures, as distinguished from the “foot” - that is, the length of the foot; and from the cubit - that is, the length of the arm to the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5how fleeting my life is: This perspective comes out of suffering (see Psalms 78:39; 89:47–48; 90:3–10). The human lifetime is but a moment to God (Psalm 90:4), as temporary as a breath (see Psalms 39:11; 144:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-74-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued. make me to know mine end--experimentally appreciate. how frail I am--literally, "when I shall cease."Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 39:5

• Handbreadth
• Life
• Measure
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Altogether
• Frail
• Handbreadth
• Jeduthun
• Measure
• Psalms
• Silence
• Vain
• Age; Old Age
• Certify

Commentaries on Psalms 39

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings