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"Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn`t know who shall gather.
Verse Takeaways
1
Life as a Walking Shadow
Commentators unanimously explain that the phrase "vain show" comes from a Hebrew word meaning an image, shadow, or phantom. Our earthly lives, with all their activity, are like shadows passing by—lacking true substance when viewed apart from God. As multiple scholars note, we are like actors on a stage, appearing for a moment before vanishing.
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Book Overview
Psalms
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10
18th Century
Presbyterian
Surely every man walketh in a vain show - Margin, “an image.” The word rendered “vain show”—צלם tselem—means properly a sh…
19th Century
Anglican
Surely every man ... —Better, only as a shadow walks a man. This is a very common theme in poetry, from the σκιᾶς ὄναρ ἄν…
Baptist
Surely every man walks in a vain show:
Like players, or actors, all of us are walking in a phantom show, which is not really anythi…
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16th Century
Protestant
Surely man walks in a shadow. He continues to discuss the same subject. By the word shadow, he means that there is nothing substa…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Surely every man walketh in a vain show Or "in an image" {z}; not "in the image of the Lord", as the Targum; in the …
If an evil thought should arise in the mind, suppress it. Watchfulness as a habit is the bridle upon the head; watchfulness in actions is the hand …
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13th Century
Catholic
The psalmist confessed that he suffered affliction for his sin; now here he promises caution in the future.
The title is for th…
