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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.”

Psalm 39

For the music leader. To Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

39 I promised I would watch my steps
    so as not to sin with my tongue;
    promised to keep my mouth shut
    as long as the wicked were in my presence.
So I was completely quiet, silent.
    I kept my peace, but it did no good.
    My pain got worse.
My heart got hot inside me;
    while stewing over it, the fire burned.
Then I spoke out with my tongue:
    “Let me know my end, Lord.
    How many days do I have left?
    I want to know how brief my time is.”
You’ve made my days so short;
    my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes.
        Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air! Selah

Yes, people wander around like shadows;
    yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;
        they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed.
So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?
        My hope is set on you.
Deliver me from all my sins;
    don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.
I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth
    because you have acted.
10 Get this plague of yours off me!
    I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
11 You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;
    like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.
        Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! Selah

12 Hear my prayer, Lord!
    Listen closely to my cry for help!
Please don’t ignore my tears!
    I’m just a foreigner—
        an immigrant staying with you,
        just like all my ancestors were.
13 Look away from me
    so I can be happy again
    before I pass away and am gone.