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.
• 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
• New Living Translation (NLT)You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

Context of Psalms 39:5

3my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 4“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 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. 6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. 7“But now, Lord, what do I look 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 90:4A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
• Genesis 47:9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”
• Job 7:6“My 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 fly away without a glimpse of joy.
• Job 14:1“Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
• James 4:14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
• Psalms 89:47Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity!
• 2 Peter 3:8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
• Psalms 39:11When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.
• Psalms 62:9Surely 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.
• Psalms 144:4They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
• Ecclesiastes 1:2“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
• Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
• Isaiah 40:17Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than 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