Psalm 39 :: New International Version (NIV)

Psa 39:1

Psa 39:1 [fn]For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”

Psa 39:2

Psa 39:2So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;

Psa 39:3

Psa 39:3my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

Psa 39:4

Psa 39:4“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

Psa 39:5

Psa 39:5You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.[fn]

Psa 39:6

Psa 39:6“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.

Psa 39:7

Psa 39:7“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

Psa 39:8

Psa 39:8Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.

Psa 39:9

Psa 39:9I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.

Psa 39:10

Psa 39:10Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

Psa 39:11

Psa 39:11When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.

Psa 39:12

Psa 39:12“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

Psa 39:13

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

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

(39:1)

In Hebrew texts 39:1-13 is numbered 39:2-14.

(39:5)

The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.