John Gill Commentary Psalms 144:4

"Man is like to vanity: His days are as a shadow that passeth away." — Psalms 144:4 (ASV)

Man is like to vanity
Is vanity itself, in every age, state, and condition; yea, in his best estate, (Psalms 39:5) ; or, "to the breath" ^F8 of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour ^F9 ; to which the life of man is compared, (James 4:14) ; his days [are] as a shadow that passes away ;
as the former denotes the frailty and mortality of man, this the shortness of his duration; his days fleeing away, and of no more continuance than the shadow cast by the sun, which presently declines and is gone.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F8: (lbhl) "halitui", Muis; so Kimchi.
• F9: "Vapori", Cocceius; so the Syriac and Arabic versions