Tehillim 144:4

4 Adam is like hevel; his days are as a tzel that passeth away.

Tehillim 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

Tehillim 144:4 In-Context

2 My Chesed, and my Metzudah (Fortress); my Stronghold, and my Deliverer; my Mogen, and He in Whom I take refuge; Who subdueth my people under me.

3 Hashem, what is adam, that Thou takest knowledge of him! Or the ben enosh, that Thou takest account of him!

4 Adam is like hevel; his days are as a tzel that passeth away.

5 Part Thy heavens, Hashem, and come down; touch the harim, and they shall smoke.

6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them; shoot Thine khitzim (arrows), and destroy them.