complete verse (Psalm 144:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 144:4:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “A person is like breath;
    his days are like a shade that does not last long.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “A person is just like a breath (of air),
    His life span is like a passing shadow.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “He/She (is) just like a wind that passes-by
    and his/her days (are) like a shadow that just passes-by.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “A person stays like a breath.
    His days stay like a shadow that runs.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Mtu yuko kama vile pumzi tu,
    siku zake ziko kama vile kivuli ambacho kinapita.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “The time that we live is as short as a puff of wind;
    our time to live disappears like a shadow does.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 144:3 - 144:4

This meditation on human frailty and mortality seems out of context here; but it may be taken as an expression of the psalmist’s own weakness in contrast with the following description of Yahweh’s power and might in verses 5-8 (so Taylor). For verse 3 see similar language in 8.4. The two lines of this verse are semantically and syntactically parallel in Hebrew. Furthermore, man in line a and son of man in line b are paired words which follow the usual pattern Noun a // Son of Noun a, which means that the noun in line a is paralleled by Son of that same noun, or by a designation of the same person as son of his father. For similar examples see Psalm 8.4; Judges 5.12; 2 Samuel 20.2; Numbers 23.18. Line b heightens the emotional thrust of line a through the use of the figurative expression in the seconding line. Translators should attempt first to reflect this heightening of poetic effect before deciding to reduce the two lines to one, and thus perhaps erasing the effect. The two lines are in the form of a rhetorical question, which may have to be answered with a strong negative. The expressions man and the son of man may best be translated in some languages as “men,” however, the meaning should not be exclusive. Therefore the most inclusive form (“people”) will be better. Son of man in this context may often be translated “just plain people” or “ordinary human beings.” A suggested rendering of this verse may be “What is man that you take notice of him; why do you even pay any attention to an ordinary human being?” or, more inclusively, “What are people that you notice them; or ordinary human beings that you pay attention to them?” If the rhetorical question is difficult to understand, a statement may be better: “Human beings are too insignificant, people are of so little value, for you, LORD, to pay attention to them.”

In verse 3 the two verbs are different from the ones in 8.4; New Jerusalem Bible in 8.4 has “be mindful … take note,” and here it has “care … think.” While different, the various verbs are closely synonymous.

For verse 4 see similar language in 39.5c-6a; both breath and passing shadow stress the frailty and mortality of human beings. In some languages it may be necessary to say in what respect Man is like a breath; for example, the comparison given in line b may need to be shifted to line a, where it can serve for both lines, particularly if they are combined: “A person’s life lasts no longer than a breath or a shadow.” If both lines are kept, one may translate “A person’s life lasts no longer than a breath; it disappears like a shadow.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .