James 1:10

1:10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. ¹ 

Job 7:6-7

7:6 My days ²  are swifter ³  than a weaver’s shuttle ⁴ 

and they come to an end without hope. ⁵ 

7:7 Remember ⁶  that my life is but a breath,

that ⁷  my eyes will never again ⁸  see happiness.

Job 9:25-26

Renewed Complaint

9:25 “My days ⁹  are swifter than a runner, ¹⁰ 

they speed by without seeing happiness.

9:26 They glide by ¹¹  like reed ¹²  boats,

like an eagle that swoops ¹³  down on its prey. ¹⁴ 

Job 14:1-2

The Brevity of Life

14:1 “Man, born of woman, ¹⁵ 

lives but a few days, ¹⁶  and they are full of trouble. ¹⁷ 

14:2 He grows up ¹⁸  like a flower and then withers away; ¹⁹ 

he flees like a shadow, and does not remain. ²⁰ 

Psalms 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ²¹ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ²² 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ²³ 

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ²⁴ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ²⁵ 

Psalms 90:5-7

90:5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” ²⁶ 

In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;

90:6 in the morning it glistens ²⁷  and sprouts up;

at evening time it withers ²⁸  and dries up.

90:7 Yes, ²⁹  we are consumed by your anger;

we are terrified by your wrath.

Psalms 102:3

102:3 For my days go up in smoke, ³⁰ 

and my bones are charred like a fireplace. ³¹ 

Isaiah 38:12

38:12 My dwelling place ³²  is removed and taken away ³³  from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; ³⁴ 

from the loom he cuts me off. ³⁵ 

You turn day into night and end my life. ³⁶ 

Isaiah 38:1

The Lord Hears Hezekiah’s Prayer

38:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ³⁷  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’”

Isaiah 1:24

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ³⁸ 

the powerful ruler of Israel, ³⁹  says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance ⁴⁰  against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁴¹ 

Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁴² 

They will say, “We will provide ⁴³  our own food,

we will provide ⁴⁴  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁴⁵  –

take away our shame!” ⁴⁶ 

Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ⁴⁷ 

They will say, “We will provide ⁴⁸  our own food,

we will provide ⁴⁹  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ⁵⁰  –

take away our shame!” ⁵¹ 

Isaiah 2:17

2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,

arrogant men will be brought low; ⁵² 

the Lord alone will be exalted ⁵³ 

in that day.

[1:10]  ¹ tn Grk “a flower of grass.”

[7:6]  ² sn The first five verses described the painfulness of his malady, his life; now, in vv. 6-10 he will focus on the brevity of his life, and its extinction with death. He introduces the subject with “my days,” a metonymy for his whole life and everything done on those days. He does not mean individual days – they drag on endlessly.

[7:6]  ³ tn The verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to be light” (40:4), and then by extension “to be swift; to be rapid” (Jer 4:13; Hab 1:8).

[7:6]  ⁴ sn The shuttle is the part which runs through the meshes of the web. In Judg 16:14 it is a loom (see BDB 71 s.v. אֶרֶג), but here it must be the shuttle. Hezekiah uses the imagery of the weaver, the loom, and the shuttle for the brevity of life (see Isa 38:12). The LXX used, “My life is lighter than a word.”

[7:6]  ⁵ tn The text includes a wonderful wordplay on this word. The noun is תִּקְוָה (tiqvah, “hope”). But it can also have the meaning of one of its cognate nouns, קַו (qav, “thread, cord,” as in Josh 2:18,21). He is saying that his life is coming to an end for lack of thread/for lack of hope (see further E. Dhorme, Job, 101).

[7:7]  ⁶ sn Job is probably turning here to God, as is clear from v. 11 on. The NIV supplies the word “God” for clarification. It was God who breathed breath into man’s nostrils (Gen 2:7), and so God is called to remember that man is but a breath.

[7:7]  ⁷ tn The word “that” is supplied in the translation.

[7:7]  ⁸ tn The verb with the infinitive serves as a verbal hendiadys: “return to see” means “see again.”

[9:25]  ⁹ tn The text has “and my days” following the thoughts in the previous section.

[9:25]  ¹⁰ sn Job returns to the thought of the brevity of his life (7:6). But now the figure is the swift runner instead of the weaver’s shuttle.

[9:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they flee.”

[9:26]  ¹² tn The word אֵבֶה (’eveh) means “reed, papyrus,” but it is a different word than was in 8:11. What is in view here is a light boat made from bundles of papyrus that glides swiftly along the Nile (cf. Isa 18:2 where papyrus vessels and swiftness are associated).

[9:26]  ¹³ tn The verb יָטוּשׂ (yatus) is also a hapax legomenon; the Aramaic cognate means “to soar; to hover in flight.” The sentence here requires the idea of swooping down while in flight.

[9:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “food.”

[14:1]  ¹⁵ tn The first of the threefold apposition for אָדָם (’adam, “man”) is “born of a woman.” The genitive (“woman”) after a passive participle denotes the agent of the action (see GKC 359 §116.l).

[14:1]  ¹⁶ tn The second description is simply “[is] short of days.” The meaning here is that his life is short (“days” being put as the understatement for “years”).

[14:1]  ¹⁷ tn The third expression is “consumed/full/sated – with/of – trouble/restlessness.” The latter word, רֹגֶז (rogez), occurred in Job 3:17; see also the idea in 10:15.

[14:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb יָצָא (yatsa’, “comes forth”). The perfect verb expresses characteristic action and so is translated by the present tense (see GKC 329 §111.s).

[14:2]  ¹⁹ tn The verb וַיִּמָּל (vayyimmal) is from the root מָלַל (malal, “to languish; to wither”) and not from a different root מָלַל (malal, “to cut off”).

[14:2]  ²⁰ tn The verb is “and he does not stand.” Here the verb means “to stay fixed; to abide.” The shadow does not stay fixed, but continues to advance toward darkness.

[39:5]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ²³ 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.”

[89:47]  ²⁴ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ²⁵ tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).

[90:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “you bring them to an end [with] sleep.” The Hebrew verb זָרַם (zaram) has traditionally been taken to mean “flood” or “overwhelm” (note the Polel form of a root זרם in Ps 77:17, where the verb is used of the clouds pouring down rain). However, the verb form here is Qal, not Polel, and is better understood as a homonym meaning “to make an end [of life].” The term שֵׁנָה (shenah, “sleep”) can be taken as an adverbial accusative; it is a euphemism here for death (see Ps 76:5-6).

[90:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “flourishes.” The verb is used of a crown shining in Ps 132:18. Perhaps here in Ps 90:6 it refers to the glistening of the grass in the morning dew.

[90:6]  ²⁸ tn The Polel form of this verb occurs only here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a Qal (which necessitates eliminating the final lamed [ל] as dittographic). See Ps 37:2.

[90:7]  ²⁹ tn Or “for.”

[102:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”

[102:3]  ³¹ tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.

[38:12]  ³² tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.

[38:12]  ³³ tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”

[38:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).

[38:12]  ³⁵ sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.

[38:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”

[38:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying”; NRSV “became sick and was at the point of death.”

[1:24]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.

[1:24]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”

[1:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”

[1:24]  ⁴¹ sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.

[4:1]  ⁴² tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ⁴³ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁴⁶ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[4:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ⁵¹ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[2:17]  ⁵² tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, the repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:17]  ⁵³ tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”