The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (A)guard my ways
That I (B)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (D)mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.
3 My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know (F)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (G)transient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made (H)my days as handbreadths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere (J)breath. Selah.
6 “Surely every man (K)walks about as a phantom;
Surely they make an (L)uproar for nothing;
He (M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (N)hope is in You.
8 “(O)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (P)reproach of the foolish.
9 “I have become (Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (R)You who have done it.
10 “(S)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (T)the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.
11 “With (U)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (V)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (W)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
12 “(X)Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent (Y)at my tears;
For I am (Z)a stranger with You,
A (AA)sojourner like all my fathers.
13 “(AB)Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:1
- Psalm 39:2
- Psalm 39:2
- Psalm 39:2
- Psalm 39:5
- Psalm 39:5
- Psalm 39:5
- Psalm 39:6
- Psalm 39:10
- Psalm 39:13
Cross references
- Psalm 39:1 : 1 Kin 2:4; 2 Kin 10:31; Ps 119:9
- Psalm 39:1 : Job 2:10; Ps 34:13; James 3:5-12
- Psalm 39:1 : Ps 141:3; James 3:2
- Psalm 39:2 : Ps 38:13
- Psalm 39:3 : Ps 32:4; Jer 20:9; Luke 24:32
- Psalm 39:4 : Job 6:11; Ps 90:12; 119:84
- Psalm 39:4 : Ps 78:39; 103:14
- Psalm 39:5 : Ps 89:47
- Psalm 39:5 : Ps 144:4
- Psalm 39:5 : Job 14:2; Ps 62:9; Eccl 6:12
- Psalm 39:6 : 1 Cor 7:31; James 1:10, 11; 1 Pet 1:24
- Psalm 39:6 : Ps 127:2; Eccl 5:17
- Psalm 39:6 : Ps 49:10; Eccl 2:26; 5:14; Luke 12:20
- Psalm 39:7 : Ps 38:15
- Psalm 39:8 : Ps 51:9, 14; 79:9
- Psalm 39:8 : Ps 44:13; 79:4; 119:22
- Psalm 39:9 : Ps 39:2
- Psalm 39:9 : 2 Sam 16:10; Job 2:10
- Psalm 39:10 : Job 9:34; 13:21
- Psalm 39:10 : Ps 32:4
- Psalm 39:11 : Ezek 5:15; 2 Pet 2:16
- Psalm 39:11 : Job 13:28; Ps 90:7; Is 50:9
- Psalm 39:11 : Ps 39:5
- Psalm 39:12 : Ps 102:1; 143:1
- Psalm 39:12 : 2 Kin 20:5; Ps 56:8
- Psalm 39:12 : Lev 25:23; 1 Chr 29:15; Ps 119:19; Heb 11:13; 1 Pet 2:11
- Psalm 39:12 : Gen 47:9
- Psalm 39:13 : Job 7:19; 10:20, 21; 14:6; Ps 102:24
