Psalms 39

39 ¹ I said, "I will guard my ways so I won't sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth while the wicked are around me." ² I was mute and silent; I kept silent even about good things, and my pain grew worse. ³ My heart grew hot within me; as I thought about it, the fire burned; then I spoke: ⁴ Show me my end, my Father, and what the measure of my days is; let me know how fleeting I am.

⁵ Look, you have made my days just a few inches long, and my lifetime is nothing to you. Surely everyone is just a breath. Selah. ⁶ Surely everyone goes about as a shadow; surely all their turmoil is for nothing; he heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather it. ⁷ And now, Sovereign Father, what am I waiting for? 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 strike from me; I am consumed by the blow of your hand.

¹¹ With rebukes you discipline a person for iniquity; you consume like a moth what he treasures; surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah. ¹² Hear my prayer, my Father, and listen to my cry; do not ignore my tears; for I am only a traveler with you, a guest like all my ancestors. ¹³ Look away from me, so I can smile again, before I depart and am no more.