Mazmur 39:11

39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; ¹ 

like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ² 

Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Mazmur 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ³ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ⁴ 

Mazmur 144:4

144:4 People ⁵  are like a vapor,

their days like a shadow that disappears. ⁶ 

[39:11]  ¹ tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”

[39:11]  ² tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.

[62:9]  ³ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ⁴ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[144:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”

[144:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “his days [are] like a shadow that passes away,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.