Psalm 109:23 kjv
I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
Psalm 109:23 nkjv
I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust.
Psalm 109:23 niv
I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
Psalm 109:23 esv
I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
Psalm 109:23 nlt
I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
I am brushed off like a locust.
Psalm 109 23 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 8:9 | "For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow." | Brevity of human life. |
| Ps 39:5-6 | "Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! ... surely they walk as a mere shadow..." | Human life as fleeting and unsubstantial. |
| Ps 144:4 | "Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow." | Life's transience, like a vanishing shadow. |
| 1 Chr 29:15 | "For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope." | Life's transient nature, pilgrimage. |
| Jas 4:14 | "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." | Life as fleeting vapor, a transient thing. |
| Ps 102:11 | "My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass." | Decline of life, fading quickly. |
| Job 14:2 | "He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and does not continue." | Quick perishing, shadow that disappears. |
| Ps 6:6 | "I am weary with my groaning; every night I flood my bed with tears..." | Emotional distress and physical exhaustion. |
| Ps 42:7 | "Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me." | Overwhelming waves of distress. |
| Ps 88:15-16 | "Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me." | Feeling of overwhelming affliction and despair. |
| Job 7:6 | "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and come to their end without hope." | Swift end of life due to suffering. |
| Job 7:16 | "I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath." | Weariness of life, longing for end. |
| Nah 3:17 | "Your princes are like grasshoppers, your scribes like clouds of locusts settling on the fences in a day of cold..." | Locusts as large, vulnerable swarms. |
| Exod 10:13 | "...the east wind brought the locusts." | Locusts moved by external forces. |
| Jer 25:10 | "...the sound of the millstones and the light of a lamp." | Images of an ending, no grinding or light. |
| Isa 40:7-8 | "The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass wthers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." | Frailty of humanity versus eternal God. |
| Ps 109:21-22 | "But you, O GOD my Lord, deal with me for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am needy and poor, and my heart is stricken within me." | Immediate plea for deliverance based on dire need. |
| Ps 109:26-27 | "Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love! Let them know that this is your hand..." | Direct plea for divine intervention. |
| Ps 22:6 | "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people." | Profound self-abasement, like the psalmist. |
| 2 Tim 3:12 | "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." | Persecution common for the godly. |
Psalm 109 verses
Psalm 109 23 Meaning
Psalm 109:23 vividly portrays the psalmist's profound sense of personal frailty, the fleeting nature of his life, and his complete vulnerability to hostile forces. He feels as though his existence is rapidly diminishing, akin to a shadow lengthening at dusk, signifying the day's end or approaching demise. Simultaneously, he expresses a desperate feeling of instability and helplessness, like a locust easily swept away and driven by external forces without control. This verse is a poignant cry reflecting deep physical and emotional exhaustion under the burden of severe adversity and malicious opposition.
Psalm 109 23 Context
Psalm 109 is a Davidic lament, renowned for its strong imprecations against the psalmist's enemies, particularly in verses 6-19. Following these powerful curses, which detail the judgment sought upon his adversaries, verses 20-29 shift the focus back to the psalmist's personal suffering and his fervent prayer for divine help. Verse 23 specifically describes the dire physical and emotional state of the psalmist, portraying him as a person utterly worn out and helpless under the weight of false accusations, treachery, and unrelenting malice from those who were once close to him (implied from earlier verses like Ps 109:4-5). This self-description of extreme weakness and vulnerability serves as the heartfelt justification for his plea to God for intervention and salvation (Ps 109:21-22). Historically, David faced many enemies, betrayal from within his own court (e.g., Ahithophel), and slander, which informs the intensity of his anguish in this psalm. The imagery paints a picture of a man close to the brink of death, feeling his life ebb away like the setting sun's shadow and utterly at the mercy of chaotic circumstances, like a driven locust.
Psalm 109 23 Word analysis
- I am gone: Hebrew: halak (הָלַךְ) – to go, walk, move away, vanish. Signifies departure, decay, or being carried away, indicating a process of diminishing or fading out of existence.
- like a shadow: Hebrew: tsel (צֵל) – shadow, shade, darkness. A potent metaphor for that which is fleeting, unsubstantial, temporary, and lacking substance.
- when it lengthens: Hebrew: natah (נָטָה) – to stretch out, spread out, incline, bend down. This specific imagery refers to the long shadows cast by the setting sun, signifying the approaching end of day, symbolic of death, the close of one's life, or the dwindling of hope and strength. It depicts decline.
- I am tossed up and down: Hebrew: ni'ash (נִעַשׁ), from the root na'ash (נָעַשׁ) – to shake, reel, tremble, to be disturbed, or driven. Conveys violent, uncontrolled movement, a state of being unsettled, agitated, or thrown about by external forces. It highlights helplessness and instability.
- like a locust: Hebrew: arbeh (אַרְבֶּה) – a type of locust or migratory locust, referring to a large swarm. Locusts are known for their vast numbers, their destructive nature, and critically, for being carried easily by the wind (as seen in Exodus), symbolizing vulnerability, lack of direction, and chaotic, unguided motion at the mercy of external conditions.
Words-group analysis
- "I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens": This powerful simile communicates the psalmist's profound sense of personal and existential decline. The lengthening shadow signals the end of the day, indicating the perceived swift approach of his own end or the rapid draining of his vitality and strength. It implies an inevitable and quick departure from life or effective living, stressing the frailty and transient nature of human existence under duress. This image suggests a quiet, gradual fading.
- "I am tossed up and down like a locust": This second simile immediately follows the first and presents a contrasting yet complementary image of his distress. Unlike the gradual fading of a shadow, being "tossed up and down" like a locust conveys a violent, erratic, and uncontrollable experience. It highlights his lack of agency, his feeling of being swept away by overwhelming external forces, without stability or direction. Locusts in their swarms are often destructive but also subject to winds and external elements, signifying his vulnerability and chaotic struggle.
Psalm 109 23 Bonus section
The placement of verse 23 directly after the severe imprecations (vv. 6-19) and before the renewed petition for deliverance (vv. 26-27) is crucial. It clarifies that the psalmist's curses are not born of mere malice but of extreme personal agony and deep spiritual distress, a response to a situation where he is himself gravely afflicted and powerless. His suffering is not only physical but spiritual, facing accusations and feeling utterly abandoned, mirroring how Christ too would later suffer betrayal and abandonment. The Hebrew parallelism, where two distinct metaphors are used, provides a complete picture: one showing a passive decline (shadow) and the other an active, chaotic affliction (locust). This reinforces the depth of his brokenness before God. This human weakness also magnifies God's power and faithfulness when He acts to deliver.
Psalm 109 23 Commentary
Psalm 109:23 distills the psalmist's dire condition into two exceptionally vivid and concise metaphors, demonstrating the severity of his suffering. First, "I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens," conveys an intense sense of life rapidly ebbing away. The lengthening shadow points to dusk, the end of a day, a quiet but sure progression towards demise. This is not a sudden blow, but a fading, a draining away of strength and hope, symbolic of approaching death or a complete diminishment of his vibrant life. Second, "I am tossed up and down like a locust," presents a contrasting yet equally distressing image of instability and powerlessness. A locust is a small, insignificant creature in a large swarm, utterly at the mercy of the wind, easily scattered and having no control over its direction. This highlights the psalmist's feeling of being violently agitated, buffeted by external adversaries and circumstances, stripped of any agency or control. Together, these two images convey both a quiet resignation to an approaching end and a chaotic, violent struggle against forces beyond his control, making his appeal to God both desperate and understandable. He is portraying his total vulnerability and complete need for divine rescue.