Limitless Word
O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
Psalms 4:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.
  • BSB How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
  • NKJV How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah
  • NASB ¶You sons of man, how long will my honor be treated as an insult? How long will you love what is worthless and strive for a lie? Selah
  • NLT How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies? Interlude

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

David confronts those who shame him and pursue empty, false things. He challenges the folly of loving vanity over the living God.

Overview

David addresses his opponents who turn his honor into shame and chase what is worthless and deceptive. Their love of 'vanity and falsehood' exposes the emptiness of a life set against God. The verse warns every generation that pursuing illusions instead of the Lord ends in disappointment, while true glory is found in Him alone.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Prov 1:22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
  • Hos 4:7As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
  • Ps 3:3But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
  • Jer 2:11Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
  • Ps 5:6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
  • Ps 106:20Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
  • Eph 4:25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
  • Eccl 8:11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
  • 1 Sam 12:21And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
  • Ps 31:6I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.
  • Ps 63:11But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
  • Ps 58:1Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
  • Ps 2:1Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
  • Isa 20:5And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
  • Isa 59:4None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
  • Ps 14:6Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
  • Jer 9:3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
  • Isa 45:17But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
  • Jonah 2:8They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
  • Ps 58:3The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
  • Ps 57:4My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
  • Ps 72:2He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
  • Num 14:11And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
  • Exod 10:3And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
  • Eccl 9:3This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
  • 1 Cor 1:31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
  • Jer 2:5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 4:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 4:2 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.