Psalms 144:4

4 Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

Psalms 144:4 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 144:4

Man is like to vanity
Is vanity itself, in every age, state, and condition; yea, in his best estate, ( Psalms 39:5 ) ; or, "to the breath" ^F8 of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour ^F9; to which the life of man is compared, ( James 4:14 ) ; his days [are] as a shadow that passeth away;
as the former denotes the frailty and mortality of man, this the shortness of his duration; his days fleeing away, and of no more continuance than the shadow cast by the sun, which presently declines and is gone.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (lbhl) "halitui", Muis; so Kimchi.
F9 "Vapori", Cocceius; so the Syriac and Arabic versions

Psalms 144:4 In-Context

2 My mercy and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I trust, who subdueth my people under me!

3 Jehovah, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him, the son of man, that thou takest thought of him?

4 Man is like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

5 Jehovah, bow thy heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, that they smoke;

6 Cast forth lightnings, and scatter them; send forth thine arrows, and discomfit them:

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'a breath,' as Ps. 62.9; 94.11: see Note b, Gen. 4.2: in vers; 8,11 the word is as 'falsehood' in Ps. 12.2, where see Note g.