New English Translation
Psalms 62:9
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 62:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
- New International Version (NIV)Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor.
Context of Psalms 62:9
7God delivers me and exalts me; God is my strong protector and my shelter. 8Trust in him at all times, you people! Pour out your hearts before him! God is our shelter! (Selah) Men 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. 10Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! 11God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong,
Read all of Psalms 62Psalms 62:9 word by word
אַ֤ךְ׀ הֶ֥בֶל בְּנֵֽי־אָדָם֮ כָּזָ֪ב בְּנֵ֫י אִ֥ישׁ בְּמֹאזְנַ֥יִם לַעֲל֑וֹת הֵ֝֗מָּה מֵהֶ֥בֶל יָֽחַד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 62:9
- Psalms 39:5Look, 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.
- 1 Samuel 18:5On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants.
- 1 Samuel 23:12David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”
- 2 Samuel 15:6Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice. In this way Absalom won the loyalty of the citizens of Israel.
- Matthew 21:9The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
- John 19:15Then they shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!”
- Psalms 55:13But it is you, a man like me, my close friend in whom I confided.
- Psalms 118:9It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in princes.
- 1 Samuel 18:21Saul said, “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law.”
- 1 Samuel 26:21Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!”
- 2 Samuel 15:31Now David had been told, “Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom. So David prayed, “Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O Lord!”
- Romans 3:4Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
- Daniel 5:27As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking.
- Isaiah 40:15Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales. He lifts the coastlands as if they were dust.
Commentaries on Psalms 62:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Men of low degree are vanity - אדם בני beney Adam, which we here translate men of low degree, literally, sons of Adam, are put in opposition to איש בני beney ish, men of high degree, literally, the sons of substance, or children of substantial men. Adam was the name of the first man when formed out of the earth; Ish was his name when united to his wife, and they became one flesh. Before, he was the incomplete man; after, he was the complete man; for it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Surely men of low degree are vanity - literally, “vanity are the sons of Adam,” but the word Adam here is used evidently to represent men, or the race. The same word is also employed particularly to represent common men, or men of the humbler rank, in contradistinction to the word אישׁ 'ı̂ysh - which is the other word used here, and rendered “men of high degree.” Compare, for this use of the word, Hosea 6:7. The same antithesis between the two words is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 Those who have found the comfort of the ways of God themselves, will invite others into those ways; we shall never have the less for others sharing with us. the good counsel given is, to trust wholly in God. We must so trust in him at all times, as not at any time to put that trust in ourselves, or in any creature, which is to be put in him only. Trust in him to guide us when in doubt, to protect us when in danger, to supply us when in want…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9are but a lie: People often try to appear stronger and better than they truly are.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. No kind of men are reliable, compared with God (Is 2:22; Jr 17:5). altogether--alike, one as the other (Psa 34:3).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 62:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 62
- 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
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