Psalms 144:4

4 ¹Man is like a breath; his days are like ²a passing ³shadow.

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 he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

3 O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?

4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke!

6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them!

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 39:5
• 2. Psalms 102:11; Psalms 109:23
• 3. Job 8:9