Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version 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. New Living Translation 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 English Standard Version 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 Berean Standard Bible You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah King James Bible 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. New King James Version 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 American Standard Bible “Behold, You have made my days like hand widths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Selah NASB 1995 “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. NASB 1977 “Behold, Thou hast made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight, Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. Legacy Standard Bible Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing before You; Surely every man, even standing firm, is altogether vanity. Selah. Amplified Bible “Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths, And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]! Selah. Christian Standard Bible In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor. Selah Holman Christian Standard Bible You, indeed, have made my days short in length, and my life span as nothing in Your sight. Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor. Selah “ American Standard Version Behold, thou hast made my days as handbreadths; And my life-time is as nothing before thee: Surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. [Selah Contemporary English Version You made my life short, so brief that the time means nothing to you. "Human life is but a breath, English Revised Version Behold, thou hast made my days as handbreadths; and mine age is as nothing before thee: surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. Selah GOD'S WORD® Translation Indeed, you have made the length of my days [only] a few inches. My life span is nothing compared to yours. Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. [Selah] Good News Translation How short you have made my life! In your sight my lifetime seems nothing. Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind, International Standard Version Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude Majority Standard Bible You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah NET Bible Look, 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. New Heart English Bible Look, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath." Selah. Webster's Bible Translation Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth; and my age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. World English Bible Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionBehold, You have made my days handbreadths, "" And my age [is] as nothing before You, "" Only, every man set up [is] all vanity. Selah. Young's Literal Translation Lo, handbreadths Thou hast made my days, And mine age is as nothing before Thee, Only, all vanity is every man set up. Selah. Smith's Literal Translation Behold, thou gavest my days a hand-breadth, and my life as nothing before thee: but every man stood all vanity. Silence. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleBehold thou hast made my days measurable : and my substance is as nothing before thee. And indeed all things are vanity : every man living. Catholic Public Domain Version New American Bible To be sure, you establish the expanse of my days; indeed, my life is as nothing before you. Every man is but a breath. Selah New Revised Standard Version You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleBehold, thou hast given my days a limit; and mine age is as nothing before thee; verily all men stand as a mere breath. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Behold, you have given me my days by a measure, and my delay is as nothing before you, because all the children of men abide as a vapor. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Behold, Thou hast made my days as hand-breadths; And mine age is as nothing before Thee; Surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. Selah Brenton Septuagint Translation Behold, thou hast made my days old; and my existence is as nothing before thee: nay, every man living is altogether vanity. Pause. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context I Will Watch My Ways…4“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. 5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah 6Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.… Cross References James 4:14 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. Job 14:1-2 “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. Psalm 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, Isaiah 40:6-8 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun? Psalm 144:4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. Job 7:6-7 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. / Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness. 2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” Psalm 102:3 For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. Job 8:9 For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow. 1 John 2:17 The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. Psalm 103:15-16 As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more. Treasury of Scripture Behold, you have made my days as an handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before you: truly every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Behold Psalm 90:4,5,9,10 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night… Genesis 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. as nothing Psalm 89:47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? 2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. verily Psalm 39:11 When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. Psalm 62:9 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. Psalm 144:4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. at his best state [heb. Jump to Previous Age Altogether Best Breath Estate Few Handbreadth Hand-Breadth Hand's High Lifetime Measure Mere Selah Sight Span Stands State Surely Vanity VerilyJump to Next Age Altogether Best Breath Estate Few Handbreadth Hand-Breadth Hand's High Lifetime Measure Mere Selah Sight Span Stands State Surely Vanity VerilyPsalm 39 1. David's care of his thoughts4. The consideration of the brevity and vanity of life 7. the reverence of God's judgments 10. and prayer, are his bridles of impatience You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths The phrase "You, indeed" emphasizes the sovereignty and intentionality of God in the psalmist's life. The Hebrew root here is "אַתָּה" (atah), which is a direct address to God, acknowledging His active role in the creation and determination of human life. This reflects a deep trust in God's wisdom and purpose, recognizing that life is not a random occurrence but a divinely orchestrated journey. The term "have made" comes from the Hebrew verb "נָתַן" (natan), meaning to give or appoint. This suggests that our lifespan is not merely a natural phenomenon but a gift from God, appointed by Him with precision and care. It implies a sense of stewardship over the time we are given, urging us to use it wisely and purposefully. The word "my days" refers to the entirety of one's life. In Hebrew, "יָמַי" (yamai) is used, which can denote both the literal days and the broader concept of one's lifetime. This highlights the finite nature of human existence, urging the reader to reflect on the brevity and preciousness of life. The phrase "as handbreadths" uses the Hebrew "טֶפַח" (tephach), a unit of measurement equivalent to the width of four fingers. This imagery conveys the shortness and fragility of life, akin to the brief span of a handbreadth. In ancient times, a handbreadth was a common measure, easily understood by all, symbolizing the limited and fleeting nature of human life in contrast to God's eternal nature. and my lifetime is as nothing before You Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath Mine age.--Literally, duration. (See Psalm 17:14.) The LXX. and Vulg. have "substance." Before thee.--Since in God's sight "one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." "If nature is below any perception of time, God, at the other extremity of being, is above it. God includes time without being affected by it, and time includes nature, which is unaware of it. He too completely transcends it, his works are too profoundly subject to it, to be otherwise than indifferent to its lapse. But we stand at an intermediate point, and bear affinity with both extremes" (J. Martineau, Hours of Thought). Verily every man . . .--Better, nothing but breath is every man at his best. (Literally, though standing firm.) Comp. "Reason thus with life-- If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing That none but fools would keep; a breath thou art. SHAKESPEARE: Measure for Measure. Verse 5. - Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth. It seems inconsistent that one who professes to be weary of his life should then complain of life's shortness. But such inconsistency is human. Job does the same (Job 14:1, 2). And mine age is as nothing before thee. The short human existence can scarcely be regarded by God as existence at all; rather, it is mere nothingness. Verily every man living at his best state is but vanity. So our Revisers. But most moderns translate, "Verily every man living was ordained for utter vanity" (comp. Psalm 62:9; Psalm 144:4).Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew You, indeed,הִנֵּ֤ה (hin·nêh) Interjection Strong's 2009: Lo! behold! have made נָ֘תַ֤תָּה (nā·ṯat·tāh) Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular Strong's 5414: To give, put, set my days יָמַ֗י (yā·may) Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular Strong's 3117: A day [as] handbreadths, טְפָח֨וֹת ׀ (ṭə·p̄ā·ḥō·wṯ) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 2947: A spread of the hand, a palm-breadth, a corbel and my lifetime וְחֶלְדִּ֣י (wə·ḥel·dî) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 2465: Life, the world as nothing כְאַ֣יִן (ḵə·’a·yin) Preposition-k | Adverb Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle before You. נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ (neḡ·de·ḵā) Preposition | second person masculine singular Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before Truly אַ֥ךְ (’aḵ) Adverb Strong's 389: A particle of affirmation, surely each כָּֽל־ (kāl-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every man אָ֝דָ֗ם (’ā·ḏām) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being at his best נִצָּ֥ב (niṣ·ṣāḇ) Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 5324: To take one's stand, stand exists as but a breath. הֶ֥בֶל (he·ḇel) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1892: Emptiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory Selah סֶֽלָה׃ (se·lāh) Interjection Strong's 5542: Suspension, pause Links Psalm 39:5 NIVPsalm 39:5 NLT Psalm 39:5 ESV Psalm 39:5 NASB Psalm 39:5 KJV Psalm 39:5 BibleApps.com Psalm 39:5 Biblia Paralela Psalm 39:5 Chinese Bible Psalm 39:5 French Bible Psalm 39:5 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Psalm 39:5 Behold you have made my days handbreadths (Psalm Ps Psa.) |
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