| 1 | I said, I will take heed
and
guard my ways, that I may sin not with my tongue; I will muzzle my mouth as with a bridle while the wicked are before me. |
| 2 | I was dumb with silence, I held my peace without profit and had no comfort away from good, while my distress was renewed. |
| 3 | My heart was hot within me. While I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: |
| 4 | Lord, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the measure of my days—what it is; let me know
and
realize how frail I am [how transient is my stay here]. |
| 5 | Behold, You have made my days as [short as] handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Truly every man at his best is merely a breath!
Selah
[pause, and think calmly of that]! |
| 6 | Surely every man walks to and fro—like a shadow in a pantomime; surely for futility
and
emptiness he is in turmoil; each one heaps up riches, not knowing who will gather them. |
| 7 | And now, Lord, what do I wait for
and
expect? My hope
and
expectation are in You. |
| 8 | Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the scorn
and
reproach of the [self-confident] fool! |
| 9 | I am dumb, I open not my mouth, for it is You Who has done it. |
| 10 | Remove Your stroke away from me; I am consumed by the conflict
and
the blow of Your hand. |
| 11 | When with rebukes You correct
and
chasten man for sin, You waste his beauty like a moth
and
what is dear to him consumes away; surely every man is a mere breath.
Selah
[pause, and think calmly of that]! |
| 12 | Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears! For I am Your passing guest, a temporary resident, as all my fathers were. |
| 13 | O look away from me
and
spare me, that I may recover cheerfulness
and
encouraging strength
and
know gladness before I go and am no more! |
Cross references:
-
Psalm 39:6 : I Cor. 7:31; James 4:14.
|