Psalm 39

¹I promised I would watch my steps

so as not to sin with my tongue;

promised to keep my mouth shut

as long as the wicked were in my presence.

²So I was completely quiet, silent.

I kept my peace, but it did no good.

My pain got worse.

³My heart got hot inside me;

while stewing over it, the fire burned.

Then I spoke out with my tongue:

⁴“Let me know my end, LORD .

How many days do I have left?

I want to know how brief my time is.”

⁵You’ve made my days so short;

my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes.

⁶Yes, people wander around like shadows;

yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;

⁷So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?

⁸Deliver me from all my sins;

don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.

⁹I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth

because you have acted.

¹⁰Get this plague of yours off me!

I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.

¹¹You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;

like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.

¹²Hear my prayer, LORD !

Listen closely to my cry for help!

Please don’t ignore my tears!

I’m just a foreigner—

¹³Look away from me

so I can be happy again

before I pass away and am gone.