⁴ “O Lord, ^(G)make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and ^(H)my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely ^(I)all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶     Surely a man ^(J)goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
    man ^(K)heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷ “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    ^(L)My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    ^(M)Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
^9 (N)I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    ^(O)for it is you who have done it.
^10 (P)Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹ When you discipline a man
    with ^(Q)rebukes for sin,
you ^(R)consume like a ^(S)moth what is dear to him;
    ^(T)surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

^12 (U)“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am ^(V)a sojourner with you,
    ^(W)a guest, like all my fathers.
^13 (X)Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    ^(Y)before I depart and ^(Z)am no more!”

³ How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like ^(G)a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his ^(H)high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
^(I)They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵ For God alone, O ^(J)my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
^6 (K)He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my ^(L)salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, ^(M)my refuge is God.

^8 (N)Trust in him at all times, O people;
    ^(O)pour out your heart before him;
    God is ^(P)a refuge for us. Selah

^9 (Q)Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate ^(R)are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    ^(S)they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰ Put no trust in extortion;
    ^(T)set no vain hopes on robbery;
    ^(U)if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

^11 (V)Once God has spoken;
    ^(W)twice have I heard this:
that ^(X)power belongs to God,
¹²     and that to you, O Lord, ^(Y)belongs steadfast love.
For you will ^(Z)render to a man
    according to his work.

^6 (H)Appoint a wicked man ^(I)against him;
    let an accuser stand ^(J)at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his ^(K)prayer be counted as sin!
⁸ May his ^(L)days be few;
    may ^(M)another take his ^(N)office!
⁹ May his ^(O)children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
¹⁰ May his children ^(P)wander about and beg,
    ^(Q)seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹ May ^(R)the creditor seize all that he has;
    may ^(S)strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹² Let there be none to ^(T)extend kindness to him,
    nor any to ^(U)pity his fatherless children!
¹³ May his ^(V)posterity be cut off;
    may his ^(W)name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴ May ^(X)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be ^(Y)blotted out!
^15 (Z)Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may ^(AA)cut off the memory of them from the earth!

¹⁶ For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued ^(AB)the poor and needy
    and ^(AC)the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
^17 (AD)He loved to curse; let curses come^[b] upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far^[c] from him!
¹⁸ He ^(AE)clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it ^(AF)soak^[d] into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
¹⁹ May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
²⁰ May this be the reward of my ^(AG)accusers from the Lord,
    of those who speak evil against my life!

²¹ But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf ^(AH)for your name's sake;
    because your ^(AI)steadfast love is good, deliver me!
²² For I am ^(AJ)poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
²³ I am gone like ^(AK)a shadow at evening;
    I am ^(AL)shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak ^(AM)through fasting;
    my ^(AN)body has become gaunt, with no fat.
²⁵ I am ^(AO)an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they ^(AP)wag their heads.

^26 (AQ)Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
²⁷ Let them ^(AR)know that this is your hand;
    you, O Lord, have done it!
^28 (AS)Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but ^(AT)your servant will be glad!
²⁹ May my accusers be ^(AU)clothed with dishonor;
    may they ^(AV)be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

³⁰ With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
    I will ^(AW)praise him in the midst of the throng.
³¹ For he stands ^(AX)at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.