Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;(B)
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.(C)
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah(D)
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.(E)
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.(F)
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.(G)
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.(H)
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.(I)
11 “You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah(J)
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
an alien, like all my forebears.(K)
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.”(L)
Footnotes
- 39.10Heb hostility
Cross references
- 39.1 : 1 Kings 2.4; Job 2.10; Jas 3.2
- 39.2 : Ps 38.13
- 39.4 : Ps 90.12; 103.14
- 39.5 : Ps 62.9; 89.47; 144.4
- 39.6 : Job 27.17; Ps 127.2; Lk 12.20; 1 Pet 1.24
- 39.7 : Ps 38.15
- 39.8 : Ps 44.13; 51.9
- 39.9 : v 2; Job 2.10
- 39.10 : Job 9.34; Ps 32.4
- 39.11 : v 5; Job 13.28; 2 Pet 2.16
- 39.12 : Ps 56.8; 102.1; Heb 11.13; 1 Pet 2.11
- 39.13 : Job 10.20; 14.10