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who loves me[a] and is my stronghold,
my refuge[b] and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me.[c]
O Lord, of what importance is the human race,[d] that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind,[e] that you should be concerned about them?[f]
People[g] are like a vapor,
their days like a shadow that disappears.[h]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 144:2 tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).
  2. Psalm 144:2 tn Or “my elevated place.”
  3. Psalm 144:2 tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”
  4. Psalm 144:3 tn Heb “What is mankind?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (ʾenosh) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. See Ps 8:5.
  5. Psalm 144:3 tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.
  6. Psalm 144:3 tn Heb “take account of him.” The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.
  7. Psalm 144:4 tn Heb “man,” or “mankind.”
  8. Psalm 144:4 tn Heb “his days [are] like a shadow that passes away,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.