Psalms 144:4

4 Man to vanity hath been like, His days [are] as a shadow passing by.

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 kind one, and my bulwark, My tower, and my deliverer, My shield, and in whom I have trusted, Who is subduing my people under me!

3 Jehovah, what [is] man that Thou knowest him? Son of man, that Thou esteemest him?

4 Man to vanity hath been like, His days [are] as a shadow passing by.

5 Jehovah, incline Thy heavens and come down, Strike against mountains, and they smoke.

6 Send forth lightning, and scatter them, Send forth Thine arrows, and trouble them,