Psalm 39
Living Bible
39 I said to myself, I’m going to quit complaining! I’ll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me. 2-3 But as I stood there silently the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke and pled with God: 4 Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more. 5-6 My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend. 7 And so, Lord, my only hope is in you.
8 Save me from being overpowered by my sins, for even fools will mock me then.
9 Lord, I am speechless before you. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from you.[a]
10 Lord, don’t hit me anymore—I am exhausted beneath your hand. 11 When you punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed, for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Don’t sit back, unmindful of my tears. For I am your guest. I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.
13 Spare me, Lord! Let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:9 for my punishment is from you, literally, “for you have done it.”
Psalm 39
World English Bible
For the Chief Musician. For Jeduthun. A Psalm by David.
39 I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue.
I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.”
2 I was mute with silence.
I held my peace, even from good.
My sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned.
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Yahweh, show me my end,
what is the measure of my days.
Let me know how frail I am.
5 Behold, you have made my days hand widths.
My lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.
6 “Surely every man walks like a shadow.
Surely they busy themselves in vain.
He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.
7 Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish.
9 I was mute.
I didn’t open my mouth,
because you did it.
10 Remove your scourge away from me.
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11 When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity,
you consume his wealth like a moth.
Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah.
12 “Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry.
Don’t be silent at my tears.
For I am a stranger with you,
a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
13 Oh spare me, that I may recover strength,
before I go away and exist no more.”
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