Psalms 62:9
Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Original Language Analysis
אַ֤ךְ׀
H389
מֵהֶ֥בֶל
lighter than vanity
H1892
מֵהֶ֥בֶל
lighter than vanity
Strong's:
H1892
Word #:
2 of 12
emptiness or vanity; figuratively, something transitory and unsatisfactory; often used as an adverb
בְּנֵֽי
H1121
בְּנֵֽי
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
3 of 12
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
אָדָם֮
Surely men
H120
אָדָם֮
Surely men
Strong's:
H120
Word #:
4 of 12
ruddy i.e., a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
כָּזָ֪ב
of high degree are a lie
H3577
כָּזָ֪ב
of high degree are a lie
Strong's:
H3577
Word #:
5 of 12
falsehood; literally (untruth) or figuratively (idol)
בְּנֵ֫י
H1121
בְּנֵ֫י
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
6 of 12
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
אִ֥ישׁ
and men
H376
אִ֥ישׁ
and men
Strong's:
H376
Word #:
7 of 12
a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
לַעֲל֑וֹת
to be laid
H5927
לַעֲל֑וֹת
to be laid
Strong's:
H5927
Word #:
9 of 12
to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
Cross References
Psalms 39:5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.Isaiah 40:17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.Isaiah 40:15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.Psalms 118:9It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.Psalms 39:11When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.Psalms 116:11I said in my haste, All men are liars.Romans 3:4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.1 Samuel 18:5And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.1 Samuel 23:12Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.2 Samuel 15:31And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
Historical Context
Ancient balances/scales were used for both commerce and symbolic justice. The image of weighing humans and finding them wanting anticipates Daniel's interpretation of Belshazzar's doom: 'Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting' (Daniel 5:27).
Questions for Reflection
- How does recognizing all humans as 'lighter than vanity' affect both pride and despair?
- What alone has weight/worth in God's balances?
Analysis & Commentary
The vanity of human stations—'men of low degree' and 'men of high degree'—levels all humanity before God. Being 'lighter than vanity' when weighed in balances indicates complete worthlessness apart from God. This echoes Ecclesiastes's 'vanity of vanities' (Ecclesiastes 1:2) and anticipates Paul's teaching that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), showing human merit cannot bear weight in divine scales.