Mazmur 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ¹ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ² 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ³ 

Mazmur 90:4

90:4 Yes, ⁴  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ⁵ 

Mazmur 102:11

102:11 My days are coming to an end, ⁶ 

and I am withered like grass.

Mazmur 144:4

144:4 People ⁷  are like a vapor,

their days like a shadow that disappears. ⁸ 

[39:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ² tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ³ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[90:4]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[90:4]  ⁵ sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

[102:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.

[144:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”

[144:4]  ⁸ 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.