New International Version
Psalms 62:9
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 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.
Context of Psalms 62:9
7My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 8Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. 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. 10Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 11One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God,
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 39:5You 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.
- 1 Samuel 18:5Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
- 1 Samuel 23:12Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.”
- 2 Samuel 15:6Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
- Matthew 21:9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
- John 19:15But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
- Psalms 55:13But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
- Psalms 118:9It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
- 1 Samuel 18:21“I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
- 1 Samuel 26:21Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong.”
- 2 Samuel 15:31Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”
- Romans 3:4Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
- Daniel 5:27Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
- Isaiah 40:15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine 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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