Parallel Verses
International Standard Version
Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude
New American Standard Bible
And my
Surely every man
King James Version
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.
Holman Bible
and my life span as nothing in Your sight.
Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor.
A Conservative Version
Behold, thou have made my days [as] handbreadths, and my life-time is as nothing before thee. Surely every man at his best condition is altogether vanity. Selah.
American Standard Version
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
Amplified
“Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths,
And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]!
Bible in Basic English
You have made my days no longer than a hand's measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.)
Darby Translation
Behold, thou hast made my days as hand-breadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before thee; verily, every man, even the high placed, is altogether vanity. Selah.
Julia Smith Translation
Behold, thou gavest my days a hand-breadth, and my life as nothing before thee: but every man stood all vanity. Silence.
King James 2000
Behold, you have made my days as a handbreadth; and my age is as nothing before you: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
Lexham Expanded Bible
Look, you have made my days [mere] handbreadths, and my lifespan as nothing next to you. Surely every person standing firm [is] complete vanity. Selah
Modern King James verseion
Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth, and my age is as nothing before You. Surely every man standing is altogether vanity. Selah.
Modern Spelling Tyndale-Coverdale
Behold, thou hast made my days a span long, and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee; and verily every man living is altogether vanity. Selah
NET Bible
Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.
New Heart English Bible
Behold, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath." Selah.
The Emphasized Bible
Lo! as hand-breadths, hast thou granted my days, and my life-time, is as nothing before thee, - Surely, a mere breath, are all men, even such as stand firm. Selah.
Webster
Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth; and my age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
World English Bible
Behold, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath." Selah.
Youngs Literal Translation
Lo, handbreadths Thou hast made my days, And mine age is as nothing before Thee, Only, all vanity is every man set up. Selah.
Themes
Handbreadth » A measure (about four inches)
Life » Uncertainty of physical » Only a handbreadth in extent
Life » Brief » Only a handbreadth in extent
natural Life » Is compared to » A hand-breadth
Measures » Of length » Handbreadth
The Providence of God » Is exercised in » Determining the period of human life
Topics
References
Smith
Word Count of 20 Translations in Psalm 39:5
Verse Info
Context Readings
The Fleeting Nature Of Life
4 "LORD, let me know how my life ends, and the standard by which you will measure my days, whatever it is! Then I will know how transient my life is. 5 Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude 6 In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them.
Cross References
Psalm 62:9
Human beings are a mere vapor, while people in high positions are not what they appear. When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing; even when weighed together, they are less than nothing.
Psalm 89:47
Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings!
Psalm 144:4
The human person is a mere empty breath; his days are like a fading shadow.
Genesis 47:9
"I'm 130 years old," Jacob replied. "My years have turned out to be few and unpleasant, but I haven't yet reached the age my ancestors did during their travels on earth."
Job 7:6
My days pass as swiftly as a hand-loom; they come to their conclusion without hope.
Job 9:25-26
"My days pass faster than a runner; but they pass quickly without seeing anything good.
Job 14:1-2
Human beings born by women are short-lived and full of trouble.
Psalm 39:11
You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities; you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth. Indeed, every person is a puff of wind. Interlude
Psalm 90:4-5
One thousand years in your sight are but a single day that passes by, just like a night watch.
Psalm 90:9-10
All our days pass away in your wrath; our years fade away and end like a sigh.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
"Utterly pointless," says the Teacher. "Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless."
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.
Isaiah 40:17
All the nations are as nothing before him they are reckoned by him as nothing and chaos.
James 4:14
You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
2 Peter 3:8
Don't forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day.