Psalm 39 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

What Is the Measure of My Days?

Psa 39:1To 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.”

Psa 39:2

Psa 39:2I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.

Psa 39:3

Psa 39:3My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

Psa 39:4

Psa 39:4“O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!

Psa 39:5

Psa 39:5Behold, 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

Psa 39:6

Psa 39:6Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing[fn] they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

Psa 39:7

Psa 39:7“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.

Psa 39:8

Psa 39:8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!

Psa 39:9

Psa 39:9I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.

Psa 39:10

Psa 39:10Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

Psa 39:11

Psa 39:11When 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

Psa 39:12

Psa 39:12“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.

Psa 39:13

Psa 39:13Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!”

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ESV Footnotes

(39:6)

Hebrew Surely as a breath

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