Psalm 89:47
New International Version
Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all humanity!

New Living Translation
Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!

English Standard Version
Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!

Berean Standard Bible
Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

King James Bible
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

New King James Version
Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?

New American Standard Bible
Remember what my lifespan is; For what futility You have created all the sons of mankind!

NASB 1995
Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!

NASB 1977
Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity Thou hast created all the sons of men!

Legacy Standard Bible
Remember what my span of life is; For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!

Amplified Bible
Remember how fleeting my lifetime is; For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!

Christian Standard Bible
Remember how short my life is. Have you created everyone for nothing?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Remember how short my life is. Have You created everyone for nothing?

American Standard Version
Oh remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men!

Contemporary English Version
Remember, life is short! Why did you empty our lives of all meaning?

English Revised Version
O remember how short my time is: for what vanity hast thou created all the children of men!

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Remember how short my life is! Have you created Adam's descendants for no reason?

Good News Translation
Remember how short my life is; remember that you created all of us mortal!

International Standard Version
Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings!

Majority Standard Bible
Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

NET Bible
Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?

New Heart English Bible
Remember how short my time is. Have you created the descendants of Adam for no reason?

Webster's Bible Translation
Remember how short my time is: why hast thou made all men in vain?

World English Bible
Remember how short my time is, for what vanity you have created all the children of men!
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Remember how [short] my lifetime [is]. Why have You created in vain "" All the sons of men?

Young's Literal Translation
Remember, I pray Thee, what is life-time? Wherefore in vain hast Thou created All the sons of men?

Smith's Literal Translation
Remember me what is life: wherefore in vain didst thou create all the sons of man?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Remember what my substance is for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Remember what my substance is. For could you really have appointed all the sons of men in vain?

New American Bible
Remember how brief life is, how frail the sons of man you have created!

New Revised Standard Version
Remember how short my time is— for what vanity you have created all mortals!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Remember me from the time I was created; for thou hast not created all men in vain.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Remember me from the pit, because it is not for nothing that you have created all the children of men!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
O remember how short my time is; For what vanity hast Thou created all the children of men!

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Remember what my being is: for hast thou created all the sons of men in vain?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Sing of His Love Forever
46How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire? 47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men! 48What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah…

Cross References
Job 7:7
Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.

Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Ecclesiastes 1:2
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Isaiah 38:12
My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. / So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

1 John 2:17
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,


Treasury of Scripture

Remember how short my time is: why have you made all men in vain?

remember

Psalm 39:5,6
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…

Psalm 119:84
How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?

Job 7:7
O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

wherefore

Psalm 144:4
Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

Job 14:1
Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

James 4:14
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

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Psalm 89
1. The psalmist praises God for his covenant
5. For his wonderful power
15. For the care of his church
19. For his favor to the kingdom of David
38. Then complaining of contrary events
46. He expostulates, prays, and blesses God.














Remember the briefness of my lifespan!
This phrase reflects the psalmist's awareness of human mortality and the fleeting nature of life. In the context of Psalm 89, the psalmist is lamenting the apparent failure of God's promises to David, emphasizing the urgency of divine intervention. The brevity of life is a common theme in Scripture, seen in passages like Psalm 39:4-5 and James 4:14, which compare life to a vapor or shadow. This acknowledgment of life's shortness serves as a reminder of human dependence on God and the need for His eternal perspective.

For what futility You have created all men!
Here, the psalmist expresses a sense of existential frustration, questioning the purpose of human existence in light of its transience. This sentiment echoes the themes found in Ecclesiastes, where the Preacher declares the vanity of life under the sun. Theologically, this phrase can be understood in the context of the fall of man in Genesis 3, which introduced futility and frustration into the created order. However, from a redemptive perspective, the New Testament reveals that through Christ, believers are given hope and purpose beyond this life, as seen in Romans 8:20-21, where creation's subjection to futility is contrasted with the hope of liberation through Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ethan the Ezrahite
Traditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 89, Ethan was a wise man during the time of Solomon. His psalm reflects on God's covenant with David and the apparent contradiction between God's promises and the current state of Israel.

2. Davidic Covenant
This is the promise God made to David, ensuring that his lineage would endure forever. Psalm 89 reflects on this covenant and the seeming delay or failure in its fulfillment.

3. Israel
The nation of Israel is central to the context of this psalm, as it grapples with the tension between God's promises and their present struggles.

4. God's Creation
The psalmist reflects on the nature of humanity and creation, questioning the purpose and brevity of human life.

5. Human Mortality
The fleeting nature of human life is a key theme in this verse, prompting reflection on the purpose and meaning of life.
Teaching Points
The Brevity of Life
Recognize the shortness of life as a call to live purposefully and in alignment with God's will.

Trust in God's Promises
Even when circumstances seem contrary, trust in the faithfulness of God's promises, as exemplified in the Davidic Covenant.

Human Limitations and Divine Sovereignty
Acknowledge human limitations and the futility of life without God, leading to a deeper reliance on His sovereignty.

Reflecting on Mortality
Use the awareness of life's brevity to prioritize spiritual growth and eternal values over temporal concerns.

Seeking God's Perspective
In times of doubt or confusion, seek God's perspective through prayer and scripture, trusting in His ultimate plan.(47) Remember.--The text of this clause runs, Remember I how duration, which might possibly be an incoherent sob, meaning remember how quickly I pass. But since the transposition of a letter brings the clause into conformity with Psalm 39:4, "how frail I am," it is better to adopt the change.

Wherefore hast thou . . .--Literally, for what vanity hast thou created all men?

"Count all the joys thine hours have seen,

Count all the days from anguish free,

And know, whatever thou hast been,

'Twere something better not to be."--BYRON.

Verse 47. - Remember how short my time is. Consider how short-lived is the whole race of men. Come, therefore, to our deliverance quickly. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? literally, for what vanity thou hast made all the sons of men. Another point suggested for God's consideration, as fitted to call forth his compassion.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Remember
זְכָר־ (zə·ḵār-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 2142: To mark, to remember, to mention, to be male

how
מֶה־ (meh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

short
חָ֑לֶד (ḥā·leḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2465: Life, the world

is my lifespan.
אֲנִ֥י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

For
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

what
מַה־ (ma·hō·šā-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

futility
שָּׁ֝֗וְא (w)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7723: Evil, idolatry, uselessness

You have created
בָּרָ֥אתָ (bā·rā·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 1254: To create, to cut down, select, feed

all
כָל־ (ḵāl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

men!
אָדָֽם׃ (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being


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OT Poetry: Psalm 89:47 Remember how short my time is! (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 89:46
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