Psalm 39

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will watch my ways

and keep my tongue from sin;

I will put a muzzle on my mouth

while in the presence of the wicked.”

²So I remained utterly silent,

not even saying anything good.

But my anguish increased;

³my heart grew hot within me.

While I meditated, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Show me, Lord, my life’s end

and the number of my days;

let me know how fleeting my life is.

⁵You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Everyone is but a breath,

even those who seem secure.

⁶“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;

in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth

without knowing whose it will finally be.

⁷“But now, Lord, what do I look for?

My hope is in you.

⁸Save me from all my transgressions;

do not make me the scorn of fools.

⁹I was silent; I would not open my mouth,

for you are the one who has done this.

¹⁰Remove your scourge from me;

I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

¹¹When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin,

you consume their wealth like a moth—

surely everyone is but a breath.

¹²“Hear my prayer, Lord,

listen to my cry for help;

do not be deaf to my weeping.

I dwell with you as a foreigner,

a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

¹³Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again

before I depart and am no more.”