I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
Parallel Translations
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I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
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I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
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I am gone like the shadow when it lengtheneth; I am shaken off as the locust.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Psalms 109:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 10:19 Yahweh sent an exceedingly strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.
- 1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining.
- Job 14:2 He grows up like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.
- Psalms 102:10-11 because of your indignation and your wrath; for you have taken me up and thrown me away. My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
- Exodus 10:13 Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
- Psalms 144:4 Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
- Ecclesiastes 8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
- James 4:14 Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 23 I walk about as a shadow. These are…
23 I walk about as a shadow. These are two very appropriate similitudes: to the first of them I formerly adverted in Psalm 102:12; namely, that the afflicted person, and he who is almost lifeless, is very fitly compared to the shadow of the evening. At sunrise, or when he is shining in noon-day brightness, the constant shifting of the shadow is not so perceptible; but, towards sunset, the shadow flits before us during every moment that passes. By the other similitude, the transitory nature of all sublunary things is pointed out. For as the locusts are constantly skipping from one place to another, so David complains of his life being ever rendered uneasy by incessant persecution, so that no space was allowed him for repose; and this is similar to what he says in Psalm 11:1, that he was compelled to flee like a sparrow, for which the fowler lays snares in all directions. In short, he mourns over his forlorn situation, that he could find no place of safety, and that, even among men, he could get no habitation. And, as in this psalm, he presents us with a picture of the whole Church, we need not be surprised if God try us, and arouse us from our lethargy, by an innumerable variety of events. Accordingly, Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:11, speaking of himself and others, says, that they have no certain dwelling-place; a description which is more or less applicable to all the children of God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, that he hath no stay nor assurance in…
Meaning, that he hath no stay nor assurance in this world.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 109:23 I am gone like the shadow when…
Psa 109:23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow] Abii, perii, evanui, I vanish, as the long shadows do so soon as the sun setteth.
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As the locust] Leapeth from hedge to hedge, so do I from place to place, being tossed from post to pillar, αστατουμεν, 1Co 4:11
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I am gone, Heb. I am made to go;…
I am gone, Heb. I am made to go; either,
1. From place to place; which was David’s case, when he was persecuted by Saul and by Absalom; and Christ’s case upon earth, where he had no certain place
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where to lay his head: Mat 8:20. Or,
2. Into the grave, as this phrase is used, 1Ch 17:11; Psa 58:8, and oft elsewhere. Declineth; towards the evening, when, the sun setting, it vanisheth instantly, and irrecoverably, until the sun rise again, which it never will do to me in this world, when once I am gone out of it.
As the locust; which of itself is unstable, continually skipping from place to place, and is easily driven away with every wind; so am I exposed to perpetual and successive changes within myself, and to a thousand violences and mischiefs from other persons and things.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain My knees are weak through fasting,..... Either voluntary or…
My knees are weak through fasting,..... Either voluntary or forced, through want of food or refreshment; this was verified in Christ, when he kneeled and prayed, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground; see Psa 69:10.
And my flesh faileth of fatness; or "for want of oil" (k); the radical moisture of his flesh being dried up like a potsherd, Psa 22:15.
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(k) , Sept. "propter oleum", V. L. "propter defectum olei", Eth. Arab.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain When - Towards the evening, when the sun is…
When - Towards the evening, when the sun is setting. The locust - Which is easily driven away with every wind.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. I am gone like the shadow] "I…
Verse 23. I am gone like the shadow] "I have walked like the declining shadow,"-I have passed my meridian of health and life; and as the sun is going below the horizon, so am I about to go under the earth.
I am tossed up and down as the locust.] When swarms of locusts take wing, and infest the countries in the east, if the wind happen to blow briskly, the swarms are agitated and driven upon each other, so as to appear to be heaved to and fro, or tossed up and down. Dr. Shaw, who has seen this, says it gives a lively idea of the comparisons of the psalmist.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 109:23. I am gone, &c. — Hebrew, נהלכתי,…
Psa 109:23. I am gone, &c. — Hebrew, נהלכתי, neehlacheti, I am made to go, either, 1st, From place to place; which was David’s case when he was persecuted by Saul and by Absalom, and Christ’s case upon earth when he had no certain place where to lay his head. Or, 2d, Into the grave, as this phrase frequently signifies; like the shadow when it declineth — Toward the evening, when, the sun setting, it vanisheth instantly and irrecoverably. I am tossed up and down as a locust — Which of itself is unstable, continually leaping and moving from place to place, and is easily driven away with every wind. So am I exposed to perpetual and successive changes within myself, and to a thousand violences and mischiefs from other persons and things.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I am gone like the shadow when it declineth…
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth - See the notes at Psa 102:11.
I am tossed up and down as the locust - Agitated, moved, driven about, as a cloud of locusts is by the wind. The meaning of the whole is, that he was frail and weak, and needed strength from on high.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. Gone like the shadow—Like a disappearing evening shadow,…
23. Gone like the shadow—Like a disappearing evening shadow, till its form and outline are lost in the darkness.
I am tossed up and down—I am shaken out. I have been violently cast out of home and country. So Exo_14:27, “The Lord shook off [margin] the Egyptians” Neh_5:13, “So God shake out every man from his house.”
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As the locust—An allusion to their being tossed up and down by violent winds. Thus Morier: “On looking up we perceived an immense cloud, here and there semi-transparent, in other parts quite black, that spread itself all over the sky, and at intervals shadowed the sun. This we soon found to be locusts, whole swarms of them falling about us; but their passage was but momentary, for a fresh wind from the southwest, which had brought them to us, so completely drove them forward that not a vestige of them was seen two hours after.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. Like a shadow when it declines or is…
23. Like a shadow when it declines or is stretched out towards evening (Psa_102:11), and is about to disappear altogether, so am I made to depart: the form of the verb implies compulsion from without.
I am tossed up and down] Or, driven away. The point of comparison is the helplessness of the locust swept along by the wind (Exo_10:19; Joe_2:20).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) Shadow when it declineth.—Literally, a lengthened shade. (Comp.…
(23) Shadow when it declineth.—Literally, a lengthened shade. (Comp. Psa_102:11, and see Note. Son_2:17.) When the day declines the shadow lengthens, it becomes longer and longer, till it vanishes in the universal darkness. Thus does the life of the suffering generation pass away.
Tossed up and down.—Better, tossed or shaken out, as from the lap. So LXX. and Vulg. (See Neh_5:13, where the same verb is three times used.) The grasshopper was an emblem of timidity (Job_39:20).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I am gone like the shadow when it declineth;…
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth; rather, lille a shodow. (comp. Psa_102:11) When shadows "decline," they are just about to cease and disappear. I am tossed up and down as the locust; or, "I am carried away swept off, i.e. , or just ready to be swept off, from the face of the earth. (see Exo_10:19 Joe_2:20 Nah_3:17)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow when…
Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth. I am a mere shadow, a shadow at the vanishing point, when it stretches far, but is almost lost in the universal gloom of evening which settles over all, and so obliterates the shadows cast by the setting sun. Lord, there is next to nothing left of me, wilt thou not come in before I am quite gone?
I am tossed up and down as the locust, which is the sport of the winds, and must go up or down as the breeze carries it. The psalmist felt as powerless in his distress as a poor insect, which a child may toss up and down at its pleasure. He entreats the divine pity, because he had been brought to this forlorn and feeble condition by the long persecution which his tender heart had endured. Slander and malice are apt to produce nervous disorders and to lead on to pining diseases. Those who use these poisoned arrows are not always aware of the consequences; they scatter fire brands and death and say it is sport.
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Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth. Bishop Horsley renders, "I am just gone, like the shadow stretched to its utmost length"; and remarks: "The state of the shadows of terrestrial objects at sunset, lengthening every instant, and growing faint as they lengthen; and in the instant that they shoot to an immeasurable length disappearing."
Ver. 23. I am tossed up and down as the locust. Although the locusts have sufficient strength of flight to remain on the wing for a considerable period, and to pass over great distances, they have little or no command over the direction of their flight, always travel with the wind, in the same way as the quail. So entirely are they at the mercy of the wind, that if a sudden gust arises the locusts are tossed about in the most helpless manner; and if they should happen to come across one of the circular air currents that are so frequently found in the countries which they inhabit, they are whirled round and round without the least power of extricating themselves. J.G. Wood.
Ver. 23. I am tossed up and down as the locust. This reference is to the flying locust. I have had frequent opportunities to notice how these squadrons are tossed up and down, and whirled round and round by the ever varying currents of the mountain winds. W.M. Thomson.
Psalms 109:24*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 109:23 A shadow at dusk suggests a transitory, empty…
109:23 A shadow at dusk suggests a transitory, empty existence (102:11; 144:4); a single locust could easily be brushed off one’s clothing.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.