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  • Psalm 39

    Psalm 39

    For the music leader. To Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

    39 I promised I would watch my steps
        so as not to sin with my tongue;
        promised to keep my mouth shut
        as long as the wicked were in my presence.
    2 So I was completely quiet, silent.
        I kept my peace, but it did no good.
        My pain got worse.
    3 My heart got hot inside me;
        while stewing over it, the fire burned.
    Then I spoke out with my tongue:
    4     “Let me know my end, Lord.
        How many days do I have left?
        I want to know how brief my time is.”
    5 You’ve made my days so short;
        my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes.
            Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air! Selah

    6 Yes, people wander around like shadows;
        yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;
            they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed.
    7 So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?
            My hope is set on you.
    8 Deliver me from all my sins;
        don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.
    9 I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth
        because you have acted.
    10 Get this plague of yours off me!
        I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
    11 You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;
        like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.
            Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! Selah

    12 Hear my prayer, Lord!
        Listen closely to my cry for help!
    Please don’t ignore my tears!
        I’m just a foreigner—
            an immigrant staying with you,
            just like all my ancestors were.
    13 Look away from me
        so I can be happy again
        before I pass away and am gone.