受苦者的呼求

大卫的诗,交给乐长耶杜顿。

39 我说:“我要谨言慎行,
免犯口舌之罪。
只要身边有恶人,
我就用嚼环勒住自己的口。”
然而,我默不作声,
连好话也不出口时,
内心就更加痛苦。
我心如火烧,越沉思越烦躁,
便开口呼求:
“耶和华啊,求你让我知道我人生的终点和寿数,
明白人生何其短暂。
你使我的生命转瞬即逝,
我的岁月在你眼中不到片刻。
人的生命不过是一丝气息,(细拉)
人生不过是幻影,
劳碌奔波却一场空,
积蓄财富却不知谁来享用。
主啊,如今我盼望什么呢?
你是我的盼望。
求你救我脱离一切过犯,
不要让愚昧人嘲笑我。
我默然不语,一言不发,
因为我受的责罚是出于你。
10 求你不要再惩罚我,
你的责打使我几乎丧命。
11 因为人犯罪,你管教他们,
使他们所爱的被吞噬,像被虫蛀。
世人不过是一丝气息。(细拉)

12 “耶和华啊,
求你垂听我的祷告,
倾听我的呼求,
别对我的眼泪视若无睹。
因为我在你面前只是客旅,
是寄居的,
正如我的祖先。
13 求你宽恕我,
好让我在离世之前能重展笑容。”

人生虛幻,主是唯一指望

大衛的詩,交給詩班長耶杜頓。

39 我曾說:“我要謹慎我的行為,

不讓我的舌頭犯罪;

惡人在我面前的時候,

我總要用罩子約束我的嘴。”

我靜默不出聲,

甚至連好話也不說(“甚至連好話也不說”或譯:“我安靜也得不到安慰”),

我的痛苦就更加劇烈。

我的心在我裡面發熱;

我默想的時候,心裡火燒;

我就用舌頭說話:

“耶和華啊!求你使我知道我的結局,

我的壽數有多少,

使我知道我的生命多麼短促。

你使我的日子窄如手掌,

我的一生在你面前如同無有;

各人站得最穩的時候,也只不過是一口氣。(細拉)

世人來來往往只是幻影,

他們忙亂也是虛空;

積聚財物,卻不知道誰要來收取。

主啊!現在我還等候甚麼呢?

我的指望在乎你。

求你救我脫離我的一切過犯,

不要使我遭受愚頑人的羞辱。

因為是你作了這事,

我就靜默不開口。

10 求你除掉你降在我身上的災禍;

因你手的責打,我就消滅。

11 你因人的罪孽,藉著責罰管教他們,

叫他們所寶貴的消失,像被蟲蛀蝕;

世人都不過是一口氣。(細拉)

12 耶和華啊!求你垂聽我的禱告,

留心聽我的呼求;

我流淚,求你不要緘默;

因為我在你面前是客旅,

是寄居的,像我所有的祖先一樣。

13 求你不要怒視我,

使我在去而不返之先,可以喜樂。”

David wrote this song for Jeduthun, the leader of the music.

Life is short[a]

39 I said, ‘I will be careful what I do,
    so that I do not sin.
I will also be careful what I say.
When wicked people are listening,
    I will not even open my mouth.’
So I did not speak a word,
    even about good things.
That made me very upset.
It was like a fire inside me!
As I thought more about it,
    I just had to say something!
So I said this:
Lord, tell me about my life.
Tell me how long it will be,
    and when it will finish.
I need to remember that life is only short.
Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few!
    The time that I live seems very short to you.
Human life is only a breath,
    even for those who seem to be strong.
Selah.
As we live, we are just like shadows.
    We work to get things for ourselves.
We may get a lot of money,
    but we do not know who will have it after we die.’

So, my Lord, what help can I hope to get?
    You are the only one that I can really trust!
Save me from all my sins!
    Do not let fools insult me.
I will not say anything more.
I will not open my mouth,
    because it is you who have punished me!
10 Please do not hurt me any more!
You have already punished me enough,
    so that I am almost dead!
11 When people do wrong things,
    you warn them and you punish them.
You destroy their valuable things,
    like a moth eats cloth![b]
Yes, our lives are only a breath!
Selah.
12 Lord, please hear my prayer.
    Listen to me when I call to you for help.
Do not turn away from me when I weep.
I need your help,
    like a foreign person who lives away from his home.
I live on earth as a stranger,
    like all my ancestors did.
13 Stop being angry with me,
    so that I can be happy again before I die.

Footnotes

  1. 39:1 David thinks about death in this psalm. He says that life is short and people soon go from the earth. They are like shadows, or a breath. So David finishes with a prayer: let me live a little longer and be happy.
  2. 39:11 A moth is an insect that may lay its eggs in clothes and spoil the clothes.