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.
Study Note
Study Note
'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' — the psalm's meditation on trust in God alone is undergirded by a rigorous assessment of human unreliability, whether social status is high or low. The weighing metaphor ('laid in the balance') draws on Egyptian and Mesopotamian judgment imagery and anticipates the New Testament's eschatological weighing of all human pretensions. The verse's democratic skepticism — neither the powerful nor the powerless provide a sufficient foundation for trust — forces reliance onto God alone (verse 8: 'Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him'), anticipating Jeremiah 17:5–8's contrast between the cursed trust-in-man and the blessed trust-in-God.
Other Translations
Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: In the balances they will go up; They are together lighter than vanity.
Only--vanity <FI>are<Fi> the low, a lie the high. In balances to go up they than vanity <FI>are<Fi> lighter.
Truly men of low birth are nothing, and men of high position are not what they seem; if they are put in the scales together they are less than a breath.
Cross References
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All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.