Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks this prayer to the Lord while addressing the assembled leaders of Israel during the final collection of materials for the temple. He frames the congregation’s generous offerings within the reality of human transience and divine ownership.
The words — The Hebrew terms גֵרִים (ge.Rim) and תוֹשָׁבִים (to.sha.Vim) literally denote sojourners and resident aliens, while כַּ/צֵּ֧ל (ka./Tzel) translates to like a shadow. These lexical choices ground the speaker’s claim of temporary earthly existence in specific legal and poetic vocabulary.
The thread — The motif of earthly life as a fleeting shadow appears in Psalms 102:11 and 144:4, while the status of foreigners and residents before God is established in Leviticus 25:23. These passages collectively frame human transience and divine land ownership.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human generosity originates from God’s prior provision and that earthly tenure is inherently temporary. It requires a reader to align their stewardship with divine ownership rather than personal permanence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 25:23 The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
- Psalms 102:11 My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.
- Psalms 144:4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
- Job 14:2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
- Psalms 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.
- James 4:14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- Psalms 90:9 For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh.
- Psalms 119:19 I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.
- Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
- Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.