Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB You hide your face: they are troubled; you take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.
- BSB When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
- NKJV You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
- NASB You hide Your face, they are terrified; You take away their breath, they perish And return to their dust.
- NLT But if you turn away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When God hides His face the creatures are dismayed, and when He takes their breath they die and return to dust. All life hangs on His sustaining presence.
Overview
Just as God's provision gives life, the withdrawal of His face and breath brings death. Every creature's existence is moment by moment dependent on Him. This sober truth magnifies the gift of life in Christ, who conquers death and raises the dust to new and unending life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Job 34:14–15If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
- Eccl 12:7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
- Ps 146:4His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
- Acts 17:25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
- Gen 3:19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
- Ps 30:7LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
- Ps 90:3Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
- Job 10:9Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
- Deut 31:17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
- Job 13:24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
- Job 34:29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:
- Rom 8:20–22For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 104:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.