Psalm 39 (New American Standard Bible)

Psalm 39

The Vanity of Life.

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

    ¹I said, "I will ^(A)guard my ways
         That I ^(B)may not sin with my tongue;
         I will guard ^(C)my mouth as with a muzzle
         While the wicked are in my presence."
    ²I was ^(D)mute and silent,
         I ^[a]refrained even from good,
         And my ^[b]sorrow grew worse.
    ³My ^(E)heart was hot within me,
         While I was musing the fire burned;
         Then I spoke with my tongue:
    ⁴"LORD, make me to know ^(F)my end
         And what is the extent of my days;
         Let me know how ^(G)transient I am.
    ⁵"Behold, You have made ^(H)my days as handbreadths,
         And my ^(I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
         Surely every man at his best is a mere ^(J)breath. Selah.
    ⁶"Surely every man ^(K)walks about as ^[c]a phantom;
         Surely they make an ^(L)uproar for nothing;
         He ^(M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
    ⁷"And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
         My ^(N)hope is in You.
    ⁸"^(O)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
         Make me not the ^(P)reproach of the foolish.
    ⁹"I have become ^(Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
         Because it is ^(R)You who have done it.
    ¹⁰"^(S)Remove Your plague from me;
         Because of ^(T)the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.
    ¹¹"With ^(U)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
         You ^(V)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
         Surely ^(W)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
    ¹²"^(X)Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry;
         Do not be silent ^(Y)at my tears;
         For I am ^(Z)a stranger with You,
         A ^(AA)sojourner like all my fathers.
    ¹³"^(AB)Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may ^[d]smile again
         Before I depart and am no more."