Psalms 109:23 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

I am fading away like a shadow when the sun goes down: I am being thrown around like a grasshopper in the wind.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The writer is describing how weak and insignificant he feels, like he's disappearing and being tossed around helplessly.

📚 Historical Context

In the context of Psalm 109, which is attributed to David, the psalmist is expressing deep anguish and pleading for God's justice against false accusers and enemies who have betrayed him. This verse uses vivid imagery of a declining shadow and a tossed locust to convey the speaker's sense of frailty and instability, reflecting the common experiences of persecution in ancient Israel. Such poetic language was typical in the Psalms, which served as prayers and songs during times of personal and national distress in the Israelite monarchy.

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Psalms 102:11

My days pass by like a shadow that grows longer and fades away; and I am dried up like grass.

Nahum 3:17

Your rulers are like swarms of locusts, and your military leaders are like grasshoppers that huddle together in the bushes when it's cold. But the moment the sun comes up and things get heated, they all scatter and disappear, and nobody knows where they went.

Psalms 144:4

People are like a breath of air that quickly disappears: our days pass by as quickly as a shadow moves across the ground.

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