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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.

Context of Psalms 39:6

4“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. 5You 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. “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. 8Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.

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 things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
• 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.
• Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 2:17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
• Ecclesiastes 4:7Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
• Ecclesiastes 6:11The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?
• Ecclesiastes 12:8“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
• Isaiah 55:2Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
• Luke 10:40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
• Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
• 1 Peter 5:7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
• Psalms 49:10For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
• Job 27:16Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,
• Proverbs 13:22A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
• Proverbs 23:5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
• Proverbs 27:24for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

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