39
1 I said, “I will guard my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked man is before me.”
2 I was mute and silent;
I kept still even from good, but my pain grew worse.
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I pondered, a fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “LORD, make me know my end and the measure of my days, so that I may know how fleeting I am.
5 Look, you have made my days mere handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely every person, though standing firm, is only a breath. Selah.
6 Surely a man walks about as a shadow;
surely they bustle in vain.
He heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather it.
7 And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the fool’s reproach.
9 I am mute;
I do not open my mouth, for you have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent under the assault of your hand.
11 With rebukes for iniquity you discipline a man;
like a moth you consume what he treasures.
Surely every person is a breath. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry for help;
do not be silent at my tears.
For I am a stranger with you, a temporary resident like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may regain cheer before I depart and am no more.”