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

3My heart burned like a fire flaring up within me. Then I spoke with my tongue: 4“Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life. Teach me about the number of days I have left so that I may know how temporary my life is. Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⌞only⌟ a few inches. My life span is nothing compared to yours. Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. Selah 6Each person who walks around is like a shadow. They are busy for no reason. They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.” 7And now, Lord, what am I waiting for? My hope is in you!

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 90:4Indeed, in your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday—already past— like an hour in the night.
• Genesis 47:9Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.”
• Job 7:6My days go swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. They are spent without hope.
• Job 9:25“My days go by more quickly than a runner. They sprint away. They don’t see anything good.
• Job 14:1“A person who is born of a woman is short-lived and is full of trouble.
• James 4:14You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears.
• Psalms 89:47Remember how short my life is! Have you created Adam’s descendants for no reason?
• 2 Peter 3:8Dear friends, don’t ignore this fact: One day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
• Psalms 39:11With stern warnings you discipline people for their crimes. Like a moth you eat away at what is dear to them. Certainly, everyone is like a whisper in the wind. Selah
• Psalms 62:9Common people are only a whisper in the wind. Important people are only a delusion. When all of them are weighed on a scale, they amount to nothing. They are less than a whisper in the wind.
• Psalms 144:4Humans are like a breath of air. Their life span is like a fleeting shadow.
• Ecclesiastes 1:2“Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.”
• Ecclesiastes 2:11But when I turned to look at all that I had accomplished and all the hard work I had put into it, I saw that it was all pointless. ⌞It was like⌟ trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing ⌞from any of my accomplishments⌟ under the sun.
• Isaiah 40:17All the nations amount to nothing in his presence. He considers them less than nothing and worthless.

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