1I said, “I will keep watchover my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep watchover my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2I was mute with silence,
Ieven kept silent fromspeaking good,
And my anguish grew worse.
3My heart was hot within me,
While I meditated the fire was burning;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4“Yahweh, cause me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.
5Behold, You have made my daysas[†]handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing before You;
Surely every man,even standing firm, is[†]altogether vanity.[†]Selah.
6Surely every man walks about as[†]a shadow;
Surely they make an uproar in vain;
He piles upriches and does not know who will gather them.
7“And now, Lord, what do I hope in?
My expectation is in You.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the reproach of the wicked fool.
9I have become mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is You who have doneit.
10Remove Your plague from me;
Because of the opposition of Your hand I am wasting away.
11With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is vanity. Selah.
12“Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a sojourner with You,
A foreign resident like all my fathers.
13Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may[†]smileagain
Before I go and am no more.”
Title 1 Chr 16:41
5 A handbreadth was approx. 3 in. or 7.6 cm
5 Ormere breath
5Selah may meanPause,Crescendo,Musical Interlude
6 Litan image
13 Orbecome cheerful