New International Version I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. New Living Translation I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust. English Standard Version I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. Berean Standard Bible I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. Berean Literal Bible Like a shadow in its lengthening, I am gone; I am shaken off like the locust. King James Bible I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. New King James Version I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. New American Standard Bible I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like the locust. NASB 1995 I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like the locust. NASB 1977 I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like the locust. Legacy Standard Bible I am passing like a shadow when it is stretched out; I am shaken off like the locust. Amplified Bible I am vanishing like a shadow when it lengthens and fades; I am shaken off like the locust. Berean Annotated Bible I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. Christian Standard Bible I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. Holman Christian Standard Bible I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. American Standard Version I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. Contemporary English Version I am fading away like an evening shadow; I am tossed aside like a crawling insect. English Revised Version I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. GOD'S WORD® Translation I fade away like a lengthening shadow. I have been shaken off like a grasshopper. Good News Translation Like an evening shadow I am about to vanish; I am blown away like an insect. International Standard Version I am fading away like a shadow late in the day; I am shaken off like a locust. NET Bible I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; I am shaken off like a locust. New Heart English Bible I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust. Webster's Bible Translation I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleI am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. World English Bible I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionI have gone as a shadow when it is stretched out, "" I have been driven away as a locust. Berean Literal Bible Like a shadow in its lengthening, I am gone; I am shaken off like the locust. Young's Literal Translation As a shadow when it is stretched out I have gone, I have been driven away as a locust. Smith's Literal Translation As the shadow according to its declining I was gone: I was shaken off as the locust. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleI am taken away like the shadow when it declineth: and I am shaken off as locusts. Catholic Public Domain Version New American Bible Like a lengthening shadow I am gone, I am shaken off like the locust. New Revised Standard Version I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleI am bent like the shadow when it declines; I am tossed up and down as the locust. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated My steps have declined like the shadow and I am driven like locusts! OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917I am gone like the shadow when it lengtheneth; I am shaken off as the locust. Brenton Septuagint Translation I am removed as a shadow in its going down: I am tossed up and down like locusts. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible (Voice ▾ Musical ▾) Context The Song of the Slandered…22For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me. 23I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. 24My knees are weak from fasting, and my body grows lean and gaunt.… Cross References I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; Psalm 102:11 My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass. Psalm 144:4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. Job 14:2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. I am shaken off like a locust. Nahum 3:17 Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where. Exodus 10:19 And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt. Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!” Job 30:30 My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever. Psalm 102:3-5 For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers. / My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. / Through my loud groaning my skin hangs on my bones. Isaiah 58:10 and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. Lamentations 4:8 But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick. Job 17:7 My eyes have grown dim with grief, and my whole body is but a shadow. Psalm 22:14-15 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me. / My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. Isaiah 50:6 I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. Job 19:20 My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Psalm 6:7 My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes. Lamentations 5:10 Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger. Treasury of Scripture I am gone like the shadow when it declines: I am tossed up and down as the locust. gone Psalm 102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. Psalm 144:4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. 1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. I am tossed Psalm 102:10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. Exodus 10:13,19 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts… Jump to Previous Declineth Evening Fade Forced Locust Passing Shade Shadow Shaken Stretched TossedJump to Next Declineth Evening Fade Forced Locust Passing Shade Shadow Shaken Stretched TossedPsalm 109 1. David complains of his slanderous enemies16. He shows their sin 21. Complaining of his own misery, he prays for help 29. He promises thankfulness I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; Near sunset, a shadow stretches and soon disappears with the failing light. The psalmist describes his strength, security, and public standing as rapidly vanishing under prolonged affliction. His suffering anticipates the humiliation Christ endured when He was rejected and brought near to death. Psa 102:11 My days are like lengthening shadows… I am shaken off like a locust. A locust could be easily brushed away as something unwelcome. Surrounded by enemies, the psalmist feels treated as worthless and discarded. The image also reflects Christ’s rejection by His own people, though God would ultimately vindicate the righteous. Nam 3:17 Your guards are like the swarming locust,… Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidTraditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 109, David is expressing his deep distress and seeking God's intervention against his adversaries. 2. Enemies The psalm speaks of those who are unjustly accusing and attacking the psalmist, representing the forces of evil and opposition in one's life. 3. God The ultimate judge and deliverer, to whom David cries out for help and vindication. 4. Locust A symbol of insignificance and vulnerability, often used in the Bible to depict something easily discarded or destroyed. 5. Shadow Represents the fleeting and ephemeral nature of life, emphasizing the psalmist's feeling of fading away. Teaching Points Understanding Human FrailtyRecognize our own vulnerability and the transient nature of life, as depicted by the imagery of shadows and locusts. Dependence on God In times of distress and feeling insignificant, turn to God as the source of strength and deliverance. Resilience in Faith Despite feeling shaken or discarded, maintain faith in God's justice and ultimate vindication. Empathy for the Oppressed Develop compassion for those who feel marginalized or attacked, and seek ways to support and uplift them. Eternal Perspective Focus on the eternal promises of God rather than the temporary trials of this life. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Psalm 109:23?2. How does Psalm 109:23 illustrate the psalmist's feelings of weakness and despair? 3. What can we learn about relying on God during trials from Psalm 109:23? 4. How does Psalm 109:23 connect with Jesus' suffering in the New Testament? 5. How can Psalm 109:23 guide us in praying during personal hardships? 6. What actions can we take when feeling "like a shadow" as in Psalm 109:23? 7. What is the historical context of Psalm 109:23 in David's life? 8. How does Psalm 109:23 reflect the theme of suffering in the Bible? 9. What theological implications does Psalm 109:23 have on understanding divine justice? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Psalm 109? (23) Shadow when it declineth.--Literally, a lengthened shade. (Comp. Psalm 102:11, and see Note. Song of Solomon 2:17.) When the day declines the shadow lengthens, it becomes longer and longer, till it vanishes in the universal darkness. Thus does the life of the suffering generation pass away. Tossed up and down.--Better, tossed or shaken out, as from the lap. So LXX. and Vulg. (See Nehemiah 5:13, where the same verb is three times used.) The grasshopper was an emblem of timidity (Job 39:20). Verse 23. - I am gone like the shadow when it declineth; rather, lille a shodow (comp. Psalm 102:11). When shadows "decline," they are just about to cease and disappear. I am tossed up and down as the locust; or, "I am carried away" - swept off, i.e., or just ready to be swept off, from the face of the earth (see Exodus 10:19; Joel 2:20; Nahum 3:17). Psalm 109:23 presents a vivid, literal portrait of David’s frailty: life draining, hope dimming, dignity discarded, worth belittled. Each phrase—fading, shadowing, shaking, locust-like—highlights how swiftly human strength evaporates when opposition rises. By setting his helplessness before God, David invites us to do the same, trusting the Lord who measures our days, sees every rejection, governs every creature, and ultimately rescues all who call on His name.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew I am fading awayנֶהֱלָ֑כְתִּי (ne·hĕ·lā·ḵə·tî) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk like a lengthening כִּנְטוֹת֥וֹ (kin·ṭō·w·ṯōw) Preposition-k | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 5186: To stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend shadow; כְּצֵל־ (kə·ṣêl-) Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 6738: A shadow I am shaken off נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי (nin·‘ar·tî) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common singular Strong's 5287: To shake, shake out or off like a locust. כָּֽאַרְבֶּֽה׃ (kā·’ar·beh) Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 697: (a kind of) locust Additonal Resources Psalm 109:23 Blue Letter BiblePsalm 109:23 Bible Gateway Psalm 109:23 Bible.com Psalm 109:23 NIV |
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