Psalms 89:47

Take note of my brief lifespan! ¹  Why do you make all people so mortal? ² 

Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men!

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

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

Remember my sorrow and how short life is. Did you create men and women for nothing but this?

See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose?

Remember how short my time is—for what vanity you have created all mortals!

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

Take note of my brief lifespan! ¹  Why do you make all people so mortal? ² 

¹ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

² tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).