Psalm 39

The Futility of Life.

¹I said, “I will keep watch over my ways

So that I do not sin with my tongue;

I will keep watch over my mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was mute and silent,[#39:2 Lit with silence]

I refused to say even something good,

And my pain was stirred up.

³My heart was hot within me,

While I was musing the fire burned;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord , let me 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 like hand widths,[#39:5 I.e., short]

And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;

Certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Selah

⁶“Certainly every person walks around as a fleeting shadow;[#39:6 Lit an image]

They certainly 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“Save me from all my wrongdoings;

Do not make me an object of reproach for 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 rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing;

You consume like a moth what is precious to him;

Certainly all mankind is mere breath! Selah

¹²¶“Hear my prayer, Lord , and listen to my cry for help;

Do not be silent to my tears;

For I am a stranger with You,

One who lives abroad, like all my fathers.

¹³“Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again

Before I depart and am no more.”