I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

I am going the way of all flesh: take thou courage, and shew thyself a man.

I go the way of all the earth: be of good courage therefore, and be a man;

'I am going in the way of all the earth, and thou hast been strong, and become a man,

"I am entering the way of all the earth. Be strengthened and be a good man.

David appears to have in his thoughts the divine address to Joshua. Without following it servilely, he reproduces several of its leading expressions and sentiments (compare the margin reference). Solomon's youth clearly constituted one of the chief difficulties of his position. If he was about nineteen or twenty, and known to be of a pacific disposition 1-Chronicles 22:9, then to have to rule over the warlike and turbulent Hebrew nation, with a strong party opposed to him, and brothers of full age ready to lead it, was evidently a most difficult task. Hence, he is exhorted, though in years a boy, to show himself in Spirit "a man."

I go the way of all the earth - I am dying. All the inhabitants of the earth must come to the dust. In life, some follow one occupation, some another; but all must, sooner or later, come to the grave. Death is no respecter of persons; he visits the palace of the king as well as the cottage of the peasant.
Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,
Regumque turres. -
Hor. Odar. lib. i., od. iv., ver. 13.
"With equal pace, impartial fate
Knocks at the palace as the cottage gate."
Francis.
- Sed omnes una manet nox,
Et calcanda semel via lethi. -
Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 15.
"One dreary night for all mankind remains,
And once we all must tread the shadowy plains."
Ibid.
There is no respect to age or youth more than to station or external circumstance: -
Mixta senum ac juvenum densantur funera: nullum
Saeva caput Proserpina fugit.
Ib. od. xxviii., ver. 19.
Thus age and youth promiscuous crowd the tomb;
No mortal head can shun the impending doom."
Ibid.
And it is not merely man that is subjected to this necessity; all that have in them the breath of life must lose it; it is the way of all the earth, both of men and inferior animals.
- Terrestria quando Mortales animas vivunt sortita,
neque ulla est Aut parvo aut magno lethi fuga.
Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis.
Hor. Sat. l. ii., s. vi., ver. 93.
"All that tread the earth are subject to mortality;
neither great nor small can avoid death.
Live therefore conscious that your time is short."
It is painful to the pride of the great and mighty that, however decorated their tombs may be, they must undergo the same dissolution and corruption with the vulgar dead; for the grave is the house appointed for all living: man is born to die.
Omnium idem exitus est, sed et idem domicilium.
"For all have the same end, and are huddled together in the same narrow house."
Here emperors, kings, statesmen, warriors, heroes, and butchers of all kinds, with peasants and beggars, meet; however various their routes, they terminate in the same point. This and all other kindred sentiments on the subject are well expressed in that excellent little poem of Mr. Blair, entitled "The Grave," which opens with the following lines: -
While some affect the sun, and some the shade; Some flee the city, some the hermitage; Their aims as various as the roads they take In journeying through life; the task be mine To paint the gloomy horrors of the tomb, The appointed place of rendezvous, where all These travelers meet.
Show thyself a man - Acts like a rational being, and not like a brute; and remember, that he acts most like a man who is most devoted to his Good.

I go the (a) way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
(a) I am ready to die as all men must.

I go the way of all the earth,.... A path which is the path of death (o), which all pass in, kings and peasants, high and low, rich and poor, great and small, good and bad; none are exempted, all must die, and do; it is the appointment of God, a decree which can never be reversed; all experience confirms it: this same phrase is used by Joshua, from whom David seems to have borrowed it, and shows that that book was written in his days, Joshua 23:14;
be thou strong therefore; not discouraged at my death, being a common thing, and to be expected; nor at being left alone, the Lord can give thee wisdom and counsel, assistance and strength, protection, and defence; take heart therefore, and be of good courage:
and show thyself a man; in wisdom and understanding, and in fortitude of mind, though so young a man; which were necessary for the government of so great a people, and to guard against the secret intrigues of some, and the open flatteries of others, and the fear of attempts against his person and government, and the temptations he might be liable to, to do wrong things; and especially they were necessary to enable him to keep the commands of God, as follows; which required great strength of mind and of grace, considering the corruptions of nature, the temptations of Satan, and the snares of men; see Joshua 1:7.
(o) "------ omnes una manet nox, Et calcanda semel via lethi". Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 28. ver. 15, 16.

I go the way of all the earth--a beautiful and impressive periphrasis for death.
be thou strong, . . . show thyself a man--This counsel is similar to the apostolic direction (1-Corinthians 16:13) and refers to the fortitude or strength of mind that was required to discharge the onerous functions of king.

I go the way, &c. - Even the sons and heirs of heaven, must go the way of all the earth, of all who dwell thereon. But they walk with pleasure in this way, thro' the valley of the shadow of death. Prophets, yea kings must go this way to brighter light and honour than prophecy or sovereignty. Be strong - For, to govern his people according to the law of God, requires great fortitude, or strength of mind. And a man - In manly wisdom, and courage, and constancy, though thou art but young in years.