Psalms 39

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 For the leader, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.	1 Unto the end. A Psalm of David himself.
2 I said, "I will watch my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will set a curb on my mouth."	2 I have waited expectantly for the Lord, and he was attentive to me.
3 Dumb and silent before the wicked, I refrained from any speech. But my sorrow increased;	3 And he heard my prayers and he led me out of the pit of misery and the quagmire. And he stationed my feet upon a rock, and he directed my steps.
4 my heart smoldered within me. In my thoughts a fire blazed up, and I broke into speech:	4 And he sent a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many will see, and they will fear; and they will hope in the Lord.
5 LORD, let me know my end, the number of my days, that I may learn how frail I am.	5 Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and who has no respect for vanities and absurd falsehoods.
6 You have given my days a very short span; my life is as nothing before you. All mortals are but a breath. Selah	6 You have accomplished your many wonders, O Lord my God, and there is no one similar to you in your thoughts. I have announced and I have spoken: they are multiplied beyond number.
7 Mere phantoms, we go our way; mere vapor, our restless pursuits; we heap up stores without knowing for whom.	7 Sacrifice and oblation, you did not want. But you have perfected ears for me. Holocaust and sin offering, you did not require.
8 And now, Lord, what future do I have? You are my only hope.	8 Then I said, “Behold, I draw near.” At the head of the book, it has been written of me:
9 From all my sins deliver me; let me not be the taunt of fools.	9 that I should do your will. My God, I have willed it. And your law is in the midst of my heart.
10 I was silent and did not open my mouth because you were the one who did this.	10 I have announced your justice in a great Church: behold, I will not restrain my lips. O Lord, you have known it.
11 Take your plague away from me; I am ravaged by the touch of your hand.	11 I have not concealed your justice within my heart. I have spoken your truth and your salvation. I have not concealed your mercy and your truth from a great assembly.
12 You rebuke our guilt and chasten us; you dissolve all we prize like a cobweb. All mortals are but a breath. Selah	12 O Lord, do not take your tender mercies far from me. Your mercy and your truth ever sustain me.
13 Listen to my prayer, LORD, hear my cry; do not be deaf to my weeping! I sojourn with you like a passing stranger, a guest, like all my ancestors.	13 For evils without number have surrounded me. My iniquities have taken hold of me, and I was not able to see. They have been multiplied beyond the hairs of my head. And my heart has forsaken me.
14 Turn your gaze from me, that I may find peace before I depart to be no more.	14 Be pleased, O Lord, to rescue me. Look down, O Lord, to help me.
	15 Let them together be confounded and awed, who seek after my soul to steal it away. Let them be turned back and be in awe, who wish evils upon me.
	16 Let them bear their confusion all at once, who say to me, “Well, well.”
	17 Let all who seek you exult and rejoice over you. And let those who love your salvation always say, “May the Lord be magnified.”
	18 But I am a beggar and poor. The Lord has been concerned about me. You are my helper and my protector. My God, do not delay.