Psalm 39
The Brevity and Vanity of Life
1 For the director. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
2 I said, “I will be careful of my behavior
so as not to sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
whenever the wicked are in my presence.”
3 I kept completely silent
and refrained from speech,
but my distress only increased.
4 My heart smoldered within me,
and, as I pondered, my mind was inflamed,
and my tongue began to speak:
5 “O Lord, let me know my end
and the number of days left to me;
show me how fleeting my life is.
6 You have allotted me a short span of days;
my life is as nothing in your sight;
human existence is a mere breath. Selah
7 Humans are nothing but a passing shadow;
the riches they amass are a mere breath,
and they do not know who will enjoy them.
8 “So now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
9 Deliver me from all my sins;
do not subject me to the taunts of fools.
10 “I was silent and did not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
11 Remove your scourge from me;
I am crushed by the blows of your hand.
12 You rebuke and punish people for their sins;
like a moth you consume all their desires;
human existence is a mere puff of wind. Selah
13 “Hear my prayer, O Lord;
do not be deaf to my cry
or ignore my weeping.
For I am a wayfarer before you,
a nomad like all my ancestors.
14 Turn your eyes away so that I may be glad
before I depart and am no more.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:1
- Psalm 39:1
- Psalm 39:2
- Psalm 39:4
- Psalm 39:5
- Psalm 39:7
- Psalm 39:9
- Psalm 39:13
- Psalm 39:13
- Psalm 39:14
