The Meaning of Psalms 146:4 Explained

Psalms 146:4

KJV: His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

YLT: His spirit goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, In that day have his thoughts perished.

Darby: His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his purposes perish.

ASV: His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

His breath  goeth forth,  he returneth  to his earth;  in that very day  his thoughts  perish. 

What does Psalms 146:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 146:1-10 - The Lord Loveth The Righteous
This and the four following psalms are the "Hallelujah" Psalms. Each begins with that word. They were probably composed for use in the second Temple. In the Septuagint this psalm is ascribed to Zechariah and Haggai. The key to it is Psalms 146:5, which is the last of the twenty-six "Blesseds" in the Psalter. What can bring more blessedness into life than the recognition of Jehovah as Help and Hope?
Psalms 146:6-10 emphasizes the present tense in a way which reminds us of the words of our Lord: "My Father worketh hitherto." It is true that with the oppressed and the prisoners in iron circumstance, the blind and the bowed-down, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widowed, the promises appear unfulfilled. This, however, is probably due to the failure of God's Church and of themselves to realize that the Kingdom has been set up in the unseen sphere, but that we need to appropriate its deliverances by faith. "They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign." But all God's promises, like the great promise of salvation, are contingent on the exercise of faith. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 146

1  The Psalmist vows perpetual praises to God
3  He exhorts not to trust in man
5  God, for his power, justice, mercy, and kingdom, is only worthy to be trusted

What do the individual words in Psalms 146:4 mean?

Departs His spirit he returns to his earth in day that [very] perish his plans
תֵּצֵ֣א ר֭וּחוֹ יָשֻׁ֣ב לְאַדְמָת֑וֹ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַ֝ה֗וּא אָבְד֥וּ עֶשְׁתֹּנֹתָֽיו

תֵּצֵ֣א  Departs 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
ר֭וּחוֹ  His  spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
יָשֻׁ֣ב  he  returns 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
לְאַדְמָת֑וֹ  to  his  earth 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
בַּיּ֥וֹם  in  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַ֝ה֗וּא  that  [very] 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
אָבְד֥וּ  perish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
עֶשְׁתֹּנֹתָֽיו  his  plans 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֶשְׁתֹּנֶת  
Sense: thought.