Psalm 39
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1I said, “I will be careful about how I live.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will keep my mouth closed
when I am near sinful people.”
2So I was completely silent.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But the pain inside me grew worse.
3My heart was deeply troubled.
As I thought about what was happening to me,
I became even more troubled.
Then I spoke out.
4I said, “Lord, show me when my life will end.
Show me how many days I have left.
Tell me how short my life will be.
5You have given me only a few days to live.
My whole life doesn’t seem like anything to you.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
This is true even for those who feel secure.
6People are only shadows as they go here and there.
They rush around, but it doesn’t mean anything.
They pile up wealth, but they don’t know who will finally get it.
7“Lord, what can I look forward to now?
You are the only hope I have.
8Save me from all the wrong things I’ve done.
Don’t let foolish people make fun of me.
9I keep silent. I don’t open my mouth.
You are the one who has caused all this to happen.
10Please stop beating me.
I’m about to die from the blows of your hand.
11You correct and punish people for their sin.
Then, just as a moth eats cloth, you destroy their wealth.
No one lasts any longer than a breath.
12“Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my weeping.
I’m like an outsider in your home.
I’m just a stranger, like all my family who lived before me.
13Leave me alone.
Let me enjoy life again before I die.”
Psalm 39In Hebrew texts 39:1-13 is numbered 39:2-14.
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”
2So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
3my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.
6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
7“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
8Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.
9I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.
10Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth—
surely everyone is but a breath.
12“Hear my prayer, Lord,
listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
13Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
before I depart and am no more.”
