When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
Parallel translations
- WEB His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.
- KJV His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
- NKJV His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.
- NASB His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; On that very day his plans perish.
- NLT When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.
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 a man dies his breath leaves and his plans perish with him. Mortality exposes the frailty of all human schemes.
Overview
The death of even the greatest person ends his power and dissolves his plans in a single day. This sobering reality underscores why mortals cannot be the object of ultimate trust. By contrast, the risen Christ lives forever, and His purposes never fail (Hebrews 7:24-25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Eccl 12:7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Ps 104:29When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
- Gen 2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Gen 3:19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- 1 Cor 2:6Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
- Ps 33:10The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Job 17:11My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.
- Isa 2:22Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?
- Job 27:3as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils,
- Dan 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
- Job 14:21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.
- Job 14:10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
- Job 17:1“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished; the grave awaits me.
- Lam 4:20The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”
- Ps 90:3You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
- Gen 6:17And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.
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 146:4 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.