Passage

Psalms 39.6

Book: Psalms · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. Jehovah, make me to know mine end, And the measure of my days, what it is; Let me know how frail I am. 5. 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

6. Surely every man walketh in a vain show; Surely they are disquieted in vain: He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions: Make me not the reproach of the foolish. (Psalms 39:4-8, ASV)

WEB

4. “Yahweh, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am. 5. Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.

6. “Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.

Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish. (Psalms 39:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. ^{how: or, what time I have here} 5. 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. ^{at: Heb. settled}

6. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. ^{a vain: Heb. an image}

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. (Psalms 39:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. 'Cause me to know, O Jehovah, mine end, And the measure of my days, what it [is],' I know how frail I [am]. 5. Lo, handbreadths Thou hast made my days, And mine age [is] as nothing before Thee, Only, all vanity [is] every man set up. Selah.

6. Only, in an image doth each walk habitually, Only, [in] vain, they are disquieted, He heapeth up and knoweth not who gathereth them.

And, now, what have I expected? O Lord, my hope, it [is] of Thee. 8. From all my transgressions deliver me, A reproach of the fool make me not. (Psalms 39:4-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

H6754 - tselem, tselem, Strong's H6754
H3045 - yada, yada, Strong's H3045

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Argument from Restlessness

Lexicon:

H6754 - tselem

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.