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 anxiety intensified. As I thought about it, I became impatient. Finally I spoke these words: 4“O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life! Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. 6Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” 7But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope!

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 90:4Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.
• Genesis 47:9Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All the years of my travels are 130. All the years of my life have been few and painful; the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.”
• Job 7:6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and they come to an end without hope.
• Job 9:25“My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.
• Job 14:1“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.
• James 4:14You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.
• Psalms 89:47Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?
• 2 Peter 3:8Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.
• Psalms 39:11You severely discipline people for their sins; like a moth you slowly devour their strength. Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
• Psalms 62:9Men are nothing but a mere breath; human beings are unreliable. When they are weighed in the scales, all of them together are lighter than air.
• Psalms 144:4People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears.
• Ecclesiastes 1:2“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”
• Isaiah 40:17All the nations are insignificant before him; they are regarded as absolutely nothing.

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