Psalms 39

Psalm 39

The Vanity of Life.

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1I said, “I will guard my ways

That I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

2I was mute and silent,

I refrained even from good,

And my sorrow grew worse.

3My heart was hot within me,

While I was musing the fire burned;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

4“Lord, make me to know my end

And what is the extent of my days;

Let me know how transient I am.

5“Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;

Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.

6“Surely every man walks about as a phantom;

Surely they make an uproar for nothing;

He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

7“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is in You.

8“Deliver me from all my transgressions;

Make me not the reproach of the foolish.

9“I have become mute, I do not open my mouth,

Because it is You who have done it.

10“Remove Your plague from me;

Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.

11“With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;

You consume as a moth what is precious to him;

Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.

12“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;

Do not be silent at my tears;

For I am a stranger with You,

A sojourner like all my fathers.

13“Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again

Before I depart and am no more.”