Psalms 39
Open in the reader1Unto the End — for Praise-Giver. A Psalm of Beloved.
2I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
3I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.
4My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
5“Show me, O He-Who-Is, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.
6You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
7Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
8And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
9Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.
10I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
11Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
12You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah
13Hear my prayer, O He-Who-Is, 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.
14Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”