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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.”
I was mute with silence.
    I held my peace, even from good.
    My sorrow was stirred.
My heart was hot within me.
    While I meditated, the fire burned.
I spoke with my tongue:
    “Yahweh, show me my end,
    what is the measure of my days.
    Let me know how frail I am.
Behold, you have made my days hand widths.
    My lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.
“Surely every man walks like a shadow.
    Surely they busy themselves in vain.
    He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.
Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
    My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish.
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.”

To the Director: To Jeduthun. A Davidic Psalm.

A Prayer about Life’s Priorities

39 I told myself, “I will keep watch over my tongue to keep from sinning.
    I will muzzle my mouth when the wicked are around.”
I was as silent as a mute person;
    I said nothing, not even something good,
        and my distress deepened.
My heart within me became incensed;[a]
    as I thought about it, the fire burned.

Then I[b] spoke out:
Lord, let me know how my life ends,[c]
    and the standard by which you will measure[d] my days, whatever it is!
        Then I will know how transient my life is.
Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand;
    It is nothing compared to yours.
        Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind.
Interlude
In fact, people walk around as shadows.
    Surely, they busy themselves for nothing,
        heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them.
How long, Lord, will I wait expectantly?
    I have placed my hope in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions,
    and do not let fools scorn me.”

I remain silent;
    I do not open my mouth,
        for you are the one who acted.
10 Stop scourging me,
    since I have been crushed by your heavy hand.
11 You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities;
    you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth.
        Indeed, every person is a puff of wind.
Interlude

12 Hear my prayer, Lord,
    pay attention to my cry,
        and do not ignore my tears.
I am an alien in your presence,
    a stranger just like my ancestors were.
13 Stop looking at me with chastisement,[e] so I can smile again,
    before I depart and am no more.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:3 Lit. hot
  2. Psalm 39:3 Lit. Then my mouth
  3. Psalm 39:4 Lit. my end
  4. Psalm 39:4 Lit. the measure of
  5. Psalm 39:13 The Heb. lacks with chastisement