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What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

 I said, “I will guard my ways,
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
   so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
² I was mute and silent;
   I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
³     My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
   then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ “O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷ “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
⁹ I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰ Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹ When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

¹² “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
¹³ Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!”

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath

Cross references:

1. Psalm 39:1 : Ps. 62, title; 77, title; 1 Chr. 16:41; 25:1
2. Psalm 39:1 : 1 Kgs. 2:4; 2 Kgs. 10:31
3. Psalm 39:1 : Job 2:10
4. Psalm 39:1 : See Ps. 34:13
5. Psalm 39:2 : ver. 9; Job 40:4, 5; See Ps. 38:13
6. Psalm 39:3 : Jer. 20:9; Luke 24:32; [Job 32:18, 19]
7. Psalm 39:4 : Ps. 90:12
8. Psalm 39:5 : Ps. 89:47; 90:4
9. Psalm 39:5 : ver. 11; [Job 14:2]
10. Psalm 39:6 : [1 Cor. 7:31; James 4:14]
11. Psalm 39:6 : Ps. 49:10; Job 27:16, 17; Luke 12:20; [Eccles. 2:18, 21, 26; Jer. 17:11]
12. Psalm 39:7 : Ps. 38:15
13. Psalm 39:8 : See Ps. 44:13
14. Psalm 39:9 : ver. 2
15. Psalm 39:9 : 2 Sam. 16:10; Job 2:10
16. Psalm 39:10 : Job 9:34; 13:21
17. Psalm 39:11 : Ps. 80:16
18. Psalm 39:11 : Ps. 49:14
19. Psalm 39:11 : Job 13:28; Isa. 50:9
20. Psalm 39:11 : See ver. 5
21. Psalm 39:12 : Ps. 102:1
22. Psalm 39:12 : Ps. 119:19; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chr. 29:15; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11; [Gen. 47:9]
23. Psalm 39:12 : Ps. 119:19; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chr. 29:15; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11; [Gen. 47:9]
24. Psalm 39:13 : Job 7:19
25. Psalm 39:13 : Job 10:21
26. Psalm 39:13 : Job 7:8; 14:10-12; 20:9