Psalms 39:6

Only as a phantom doth each walk to and fro:

Only for vanity do they turmoil:

One heapeth up, and he will not know who doth gather the hoard.

Man is an unsubstantial phantom (or shadow, lit. image), Psalms 73:20: σκιᾶς ὄναρ, -a dream of shadow" as Pindar calls him (Pyth. viii. 95). With unreal aim and unenduring result do men disturb themselves. The word expresses the idea of restless noisy bustle and uproar. Cp. -a tumultuouscity" Isaiah 22:2, and see note on -abundance", Psalms 37:16. Shew(A.V.) must be taken to mean -appearance," not -display" or -pomp."

One heapeth upriches, treasures, possessions of all kinds (Job 27:16), and he will not knowafter his death who gathersthese hoards as his harvest, or rather, who carries them offas his spoil (Isaiah 33:4). Cp. Luke 12:20.