Psalm 38:17-39:6
New International Version - UK
17 For I am about to fall,
and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause[a];
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil
lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 Lord, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
my Lord and my Saviour.
Psalm 39[b]
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I said, ‘I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.’
2 So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 ‘Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.[c]
6 ‘Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
Footnotes
- Psalm 38:19 One Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript; Masoretic Text my vigorous enemies
- Psalm 39:1 In Hebrew texts 39:1-13 is numbered 39:2-14.
- Psalm 39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.
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