Psalms 4:2

4:2 You men, ¹  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ² 

How long ³  will you love what is worthless ⁴ 

and search for what is deceptive? ⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 80:17

80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, ⁶ 

to the one whom you raised up for yourself! ⁷ 

Psalms 146:3

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver! ⁸ 

Isaiah 51:12

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ⁹ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 8:15

8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

Matthew 8:20

8:20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky ¹¹  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ¹² 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”

[4:2]  ³ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.

[80:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)

[80:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.

[146:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”

[51:12]  ⁹ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.

[8:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[8:20]  ¹² sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).