Psalms 39:6

Psalms 39:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
• New International Version (NIV)“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
• New King James Version (NKJV)Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.

Context of Psalms 39:6

4“O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life! Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! 5Look, 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. Surely 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! 8Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion! Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!

Psalms 39:6 word by word

אַךְ־בְּצֶ֤לֶם׀ יִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־אִ֗ישׁ אַךְ־הֶ֥בֶל יֶהֱמָי֑וּן יִ֝צְבֹּ֗ר וְֽלֹא־יֵדַ֥ע מִי־אֹסְפָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Surely every manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• walkethהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• in a vain shewצֶ֫לֶםtselem · imageH6754
• surely they are disquietedהָמָהhâmâh · to roarH1993
• in vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• he heapeth upצָבַרtsâbar · to heapH6651
• and knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not who shall gatherאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622

Cross-references for Psalms 39:6

• 1 Corinthians 7:31those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.
• 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.
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile – like chasing the wind!
• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile – like chasing the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 4:7So I again considered another futile thing on earth:
• Ecclesiastes 6:11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?
• Ecclesiastes 12:8“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher, “All of these things are futile!”
• Isaiah 55:2Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!
• Luke 10:40But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
• Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
• 1 Peter 5:7by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.
• Psalms 49:10Surely one sees that even wise people die; fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away and leave their wealth to others.
• Job 27:16If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,
• Proverbs 13:22A benevolent person leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren, but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.
• Proverbs 23:5When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!
• Proverbs 27:24for riches do not last forever, nor does a crown last from generation to generation.

Commentaries on Psalms 39:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Walketh in a vain show - בצלם betselem, in a shadow. He is but the semblance of being: he appears for a while, and then vanisheth away. Some of the fathers read, "Although every man walketh in the image of God, yet they are disquieted in vain." He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them - He raketh together. This is a metaphor taken from agriculture: the husbandman rakes the corn, etc., together in the field, and yet, so uncertain is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Surely every man walketh in a vain show - Margin, “an image.” The word rendered “vain show” - צלם tselem - means properly a shade, a shadow; and then, an image or likeness, as shadowing forth any real object. Then it comes to denote an idol, 2 Kings 11:18; Amos 5:26. Here the idea seems to be that of an image, as contradistinguished from a reality; the shadow of a thing, as distinguished from the substance. Man seems to be like an image, a shadow, a…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6Due to his suffering and sin, the psalmist concludes that life is meaningless and short (see Job 7:7–10; Isaiah 40:6–8). He had expected only a wicked life to be like that (see Psalms 37:2, 20; 103:15–16), but now it seems irrelevant whether a person is godly or not.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 39:6

• Care
• Life
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Altogether
• Frail
• Jeduthun
• Measure
• Psalms
• Silence
• Vain
• Death
• Dumb
• Heap

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