Psalms 39:5
in Psalms 39You, 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
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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
KJV
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.
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This verse in Psalms 39
Commentary
16 notes on this verseGod, who knows precisely the allotted days of each one of us, regards nothing as immeasurable. His knowledge embraces the measure of all things. To him nothing is beyond his understanding, nothing is unweighed, nothing is unmeasured, nothing is unnumbered. He says, "The very hairs of your head have been numbered." … We know that God is said to have measured the heavens with the palm of his hand22—the palm, from thumb to little finger, being the span by which a thing is measured and its length ascertained.
This site's exposition
the measure of my days
on Psalms 39:4-6
The request is for the measure of his days, a lifetime set against the width of a hand. Each man at his best is a breath, and he goes about like a phantom. The riches he heaps up go to someone he cannot name.
This site's exposition
made my days as handbreadths
A handbreadth, the width of four fingers, was one of the smallest natural measures, shorter than the foot or the cubit. Charles Spurgeon noticed the turn in the man who had asked for his end and now mourns how short life is.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The life of mortals is a hard cause. What else is it to be born here, except to enter into a laborious life? Of the greater future labor, the very crying of the infant is a witness. From this troublesome banquet no one excuses himself. We must drink what Adam has offered. We were made by the hands of truth, but because of sin, we were cast into days of vanity. We were made in the image of God, but we wore it down through the transgression of sin. Therefore, the psalm admonishes us about how we were made, and to where we have arrived.
"Behold, thou hast made my days old" (ver. 5). For these days are "waxing old." I long for new days "that never shall wax old," that I may say, "Old things have passed away; behold, things are become new." Already new in hope; then in reality. For though, in hope and in faith, made new already, how much do we even now do after our old nature! For we are not so completely "clothed upon" with Christ, as not to bear about with us anything derived from Adam. Observe that Adam is "waxing old" within us, and Christ is being "renewed" in us. "Though our outward man is perishing, yet is our inward man being renewed day by day." Therefore, while we fix our thoughts on sin, on mortality, on time, that is hastening by, on sorrow, and toil, and labour, on stages of life following each other in succession, and continuing not, passing on insensibly from infancy even to old age; whilst, I say, we fix our eyes on these things, let us see here "the old man," the "day that is waxing old;" the Song that is out of date; the Old Testament; when however we turn to the inner man, to those things that are to be renewed in place of these which are to be changed, let us find the "new man," the "new day," the "new song," the "New Testament;" and that "newness," let us so love, as to have no fears of its "waxing old."... This man, therefore, who is hasting forward to those things which are new, and "reaching forward to those things which are before," says, "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the number of my days, which really is, that I may know what is wanting unto me." See he still drags with him Adam; and even so he is hasting unto Christ. "Behold," saith he, "thou hast made my days old." It is those days that are derived from Adam, those days, I say, that thou hast made old. They are waxing old day by day: and so waxing old, as to be at some day or other consumed also. […]
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON HIS BROTHER ST. CAESARIUS, ORATION 7:19 · Written before 390.
proposed
Such, brothers, is our life, we whose existence is so transitory. Such is the game we play on earth: we do not exist, and we are born, and being born we are dissolved. We are a fleeting dream, an apparition without substance, the flight of a bird that passes, a ship that leaves no trace on the sea. We are dust, a vapor, the morning dew, a flower growing but a moment and withering in a moment. "A person's days are as grass: as the flower of the field, so shall he flourish." Beautifully has holy David meditated on our weakness … and he defines the days of a person as the measure of a span.
The Medieval Church2 voices
"Behold, you have made my days measurable." Above, the Psalmist mentioned the caution exercised through silence, the danger threatening from silence, and the remedy by which the danger is averted; here, however, he shows the necessity of the aforementioned caution, which is drawn from the …
A commentator
BonaventureDisputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
No virtue is in the true perfection of virtue unless it approves each thing according as it is to be approved: but, as is said in the Psalm, every living man is altogether vanity: therefore no one is of perfect virtue unless he considers himself …
8 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) Man's life on earth is vain and of no value, and therefore it is folly to be fond of it and wisdom to make sure of a better life. Adam is Abel-- man is vanity, in his present state. He is not what he seems to be, has not what he promised himself.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth,....
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Upon consideration, the psalmist finds little room to bewail the length of life, but rather to bemoan its shortness. What changeful creatures we are! One moment we cry to be rid of existence, and the next instant beg to have it prolonged! A handbreadth is one of the shortest natural measures, being the breadth of four fingers; such is the brevity of life, by divine appointment; God hath made it so, fixing the period in wisdom.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued. make me to know mine end--experimentally appreciate. how frail I am--literally, "when I shall cease." 5, 6. His prayer is answered in his obtaining an impressive view of the vanity of the life of all men, and their transient state. Their pomp is a mere image, and their wealth is gathered they know not for whom.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Upon consideration, the psalmist finds little room to bewail the length of life, but rather to bemoan its shortness. What changeful creatures we are! One moment we cry to be rid of existence, and the next instant beg to have it prolonged! A handbreadth is one of the shortest natural measures, being the breadth of four fingers; such is the brevity of life, by divine appointment; God hath made it so, fixing the period in wisdom. The behold calls us to attention; to some the thoughts of life's hastiness will bring the most acute pain, to others the most solemn earnestness. How well should those live who are to live so little! Is my earthly pilgrimage so brief? then let me watch every step of it, that in the little of time there may be much of grace. And mine age is as nothing before thee. So short as not to amount to an entity. Think of eternity, and an angel is as a newborn babe, the world a fresh blown bubble, the sun a spark just fallen from the fire, and man a nullity. Before the Eternal, all the age of frail man is less than one ticking of a clock. Verily, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. This is the surest truth, that nothing about man is either sure or true. Take man at his best, he is but a man, and a man is a mere breath, unsubstantial as the wind. Man is settled, as the margin has it, and by divine decree it is settled that he shall not be settled. He is constant only in inconstancy. His vanity is his only verity; his best, of which he is vain, is but vain; and this is verily true of every man, that everything about him is every way fleeting.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth. Upon consideration, the psalmist finds little room to bewail the length of life, but rather to bemoan its shortness. What changeful creatures we are! One moment we cry to be rid of existence, and the next instant beg to have it prolonged! A handbreadth is one of the shortest natural measures, being the breadth of four fingers; such is the brevity of life, by divine appointment; God hath made it so, fixing the period in wisdom.
My days as a handbreadth - My life is but a span; σπιθαμη του βιου. And mine age is as nothing - כאין keein, as if at were not before thee. All time is swallowed up in thy eternity. Verily every man at his best state - כל אדם נצב col adam nitstab, “every man that exists, is vanity.” All his projects, plans, schemes, etc., soon come to nothing. His body also moulders with the dust, and shortly passes both from the sight and remembrance of men.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth - literally, “Lo, handbreadths hast thou given my days.” The word rendered “handbreadth” means properly the spread hand; the palm; the hand when the four fingers are expanded. The word is then used to denote anything very short or brief. It is one of the smallest natural measures, as distinguished from the “foot” - that is, the length of the foot; and from the cubit - that is, the length of the arm to the elbow. It is the “shortness” of life, therefore, that is the subject of painful and complaining reflection here. Who has not been in a state of mind to sympathize with the feelings of the psalmist? Who is there that does not often wonder, when he thinks of what he could and would accomplish on earth if his life extended to one thousand years, and when he thinks of the great interests at stake in reference to another world which God has made dependent on so short a life? Who can at all times so calm down his feelings as to give utterance to no expressions of impatience that life is so soon to terminate? Who is there that reflects on the great interests at stake that has not asked the question why God has not given man more time to prepare for eternity? And mine age - Or, my life. The word used here - חלד cheled - means properly “duration of life,” lifetime; and then, life itself; Job 11:17. Is as nothing - That is, it is so short that it seems to be nothing at all. Before thee - As over against thee; that is, in comparison with thee. Compare Isa 40:17, “All nations “before him” are as nothing;” that is, over against him, or in comparison with him. When the two are placed together, the one seems to be as nothing in the presence of the other. […]
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| טְפָח֨וֹת׀ | tefachot | handbreadths | H2947 → | |
| נָ֘תַ֤תָּה | natatah | you have made | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יָמַ֗י | yamai | days my | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְחֶלְדִּ֣י | vecheldi | and lifespan my | H2465 → | 5 times |
| כְאַ֣יִן | kheayin | [is] like nothing | H369 → | 789 times |
| נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ | negdekha | before you | H5048 → | 151 times |
| אַ֥ךְ | ʾakh | [is] only | H389 → | 161 times |
| כָּֽל־ | kal- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֶ֥בֶל | hevel | vanity | H1892 → | 73 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אָ֝דָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| נִצָּ֥ב | nitzav | [which] stands | H5324 → | 75 times |
| סֶֽלָה׃ | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
טְפָח֨וֹת׀handbreadths
tefachotH2947 →
נָ֘תַ֤תָּהyou have made
natatahH5414 →2011 times
יָמַ֗יdays my
yamaiH3117 →2304 times
וְחֶלְדִּ֣יand lifespan my
vecheldiH2465 →5 times
כְאַ֣יִן[is] like nothing
kheayinH369 →789 times
נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָbefore you
negdekhaH5048 →151 times
אַ֥ךְ[is] only
ʾakhH389 →161 times
כָּֽל־all
kal-H3605 →5413 times
הֶ֥בֶלvanity
hevelH1892 →73 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אָ֝דָ֗םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
נִצָּ֥ב[which] stands
nitzavH5324 →75 times
סֶֽלָה׃Selah
selahH5542 →74 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 62:9Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:17
All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
- Isaiah 40:15
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
- Psalms 118:9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
- Psalms 39:11
You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah
- Isaiah 40:17
Through
Ecclesiastes 2:11Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:14
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
- 1 John 2:16–17
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 1:14
Through
Psalms 144:4Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
it leads to
- Psalms 102:11
My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 102:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 60; Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 39; Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HIS BROTHER ST. CAESARIUS, ORATION 7:19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.