Psalm 39[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

I said, “I will watch my ways(A)
    and keep my tongue from sin;(B)
I will put a muzzle on my mouth(C)
    while in the presence of the wicked.”
So I remained utterly silent,(D)
    not even saying anything good.
But my anguish(E) increased;
    my heart grew hot(F) within me.
While I meditated,(G) the fire(H) burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
    and the number of my days;(I)
    let me know how fleeting(J) my life is.(K)
You have made my days(L) a mere handbreadth;
    the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,(M)
    even those who seem secure.[b]

“Surely everyone goes around(N) like a mere phantom;(O)
    in vain they rush about,(P) heaping up wealth(Q)
    without knowing whose it will finally be.(R)

“But now, Lord, what do I look for?
    My hope is in you.(S)
Save me(T) from all my transgressions;(U)
    do not make me the scorn(V) of fools.
I was silent;(W) I would not open my mouth,(X)
    for you are the one who has done this.(Y)
10 Remove your scourge from me;
    I am overcome by the blow(Z) of your hand.(AA)
11 When you rebuke(AB) and discipline(AC) anyone for their sin,
    you consume(AD) their wealth like a moth(AE)
    surely everyone is but a breath.(AF)

12 “Hear my prayer, Lord,
    listen to my cry for help;(AG)
    do not be deaf(AH) to my weeping.(AI)
I dwell with you as a foreigner,(AJ)
    a stranger,(AK) as all my ancestors were.(AL)
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
    before I depart and am no more.”(AM)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:1 In Hebrew texts 39:1-13 is numbered 39:2-14.
  2. Psalm 39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.

12 But where can wisdom be found?(A)
    Where does understanding dwell?(B)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;(C)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.(D)
14 The deep(E) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea(F) says, “It is not with me.”
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.(G)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,(H)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.(I)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,(J)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.(K)
18 Coral(L) and jasper(M) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.(N)
19 The topaz(O) of Cush(P) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.(Q)

20 Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?(R)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.(S)
22 Destruction[a](T) and Death(U) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
    and he alone(V) knows where it dwells,(W)
24 for he views the ends of the earth(X)
    and sees everything under the heavens.(Y)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,(Z)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(AA)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,(AB)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.(AC)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil(AD) is understanding.”(AE)

Job’s Final Defense

29 Job continued his discourse:(AF)

“How I long for the months gone by,(AG)
    for the days when God watched over me,(AH)
when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!(AI)
Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship(AJ) blessed my house,(AK)
when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children(AL) were around me,(AM)
when my path was drenched with cream(AN)
    and the rock(AO) poured out for me streams of olive oil.(AP)

“When I went to the gate(AQ) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
the young men saw me and stepped aside(AR)
    and the old men rose to their feet;(AS)
the chief men refrained from speaking(AT)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;(AU)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,(AV)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.(AW)

Footnotes

  1. Job 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When he opened the seventh seal,(A) there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels(B) who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(C)

Another angel,(D) who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people,(E) on the golden altar(F) in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God(G) from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,(H) and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder,(I) rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.(J)

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