Psalm 39 (New American Standard Bible)

Page Options

Show resources

Show Commentary

Add parallel

Psalm 39

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Vanity of Life.

For the choir director, for ^[a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I 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 ^[b]and silent,
I ^[c]refrained even from good,
And my ^[d]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 ^[e]at his best is ^[f]a mere breath. ^[g]Selah.
⁶“Surely every man walks about as ^[h]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 ^[i]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 ^[j]smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”