Psalm 39
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for [a]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 [b]and silent,
I [c]refrained even from good,
And my [d]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 [e]at his best is [f]a mere (J)breath. [g]Selah.
6 “Surely every man (K)walks about as [h]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 [i]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 [j]smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:1 1 Chr 16:41
- Psalm 39:2 Lit with silence
- Psalm 39:2 Lit kept silence
- Psalm 39:2 Lit pain
- Psalm 39:5 Lit standing firm
- Psalm 39:5 Or altogether vanity
- Psalm 39:5 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 39:6 Lit an image
- Psalm 39:10 Or wasting away
- Psalm 39:13 Or become cheerful
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
