Psalms 39

Catholic Public Domain Bible	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
¹ Unto the end. A Psalm of David himself.	¹ To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth, so long as the wicked are in my presence."
² I have waited expectantly for the Lord, and he was attentive to me.	² I was dumb and silent, I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse,
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.	³ my heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
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.	⁴ "LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is!
⁵ Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and who has no respect for vanities and absurd falsehoods.	⁵ Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight. Surely every man stands as a mere 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.	⁶ Surely man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nought are they in turmoil; man heaps up, and knows not who will gather!
⁷ Sacrifice and oblation, you did not want. But you have perfected ears for me. Holocaust and sin offering, you did not require.	⁷ "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in thee.
⁸ Then I said, “Behold, I draw near.” At the head of the book, it has been written of me:	⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions. Make me not the scorn of the fool!
⁹ that I should do your will. My God, I have willed it. And your law is in the midst of my heart.	⁹ I am dumb, I do not open my mouth; for it is thou who hast done it.
¹⁰ I have announced your justice in a great Church: behold, I will not restrain my lips. O Lord, you have known it.	¹⁰ Remove thy stroke from me; I am spent by the blows of thy 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.	¹¹ When thou dost chasten man with rebukes for sin, thou dost consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely every man is a mere breath! [Selah]
¹² O Lord, do not take your tender mercies far from me. Your mercy and your truth ever sustain me.	¹² "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears! For I am thy passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers.
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.	¹³ Look away from me, that I may know gladness, before I depart and 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.