Psalm 39 Unlocked Literal Bible

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Protestant
OT: Masoretic Hebrew
NT: Critical text (not verified)
Protestant (66 books)
Formal (word for word)
2017
CC BY-SA 4.0

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

Notes on this text (1)

Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.

ULB Unlocked Literal Bible

WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)

1 For the chief musician, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David. I decided, “I will watch what I say so that I do not sin with my tongue. I will muzzle my mouth while in the presence of an evil man.”

1 For the Chief Musician. For Jeduthun. A Psalm by David. I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.”

2 I kept silent; I kept back my words even from saying anything good, and my pain grew worse.

2 I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred.

3 My heart became hot; when I thought about these things, it burned like a fire. Then finally I spoke.

3 My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:

4 “Yahweh, make me know when will be the end of my life and the extent of my days. Show me how transient I am.

4 “Yahweh, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am.

5 See, you have made my days only the width of my hand, and my lifetime is like nothing before you. Surely every man is a single breath. Selah

5 Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.

6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow. Surely everyone hurries about to accumulate riches although they do not know who will receive them.

6 “Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.

7 Now, Lord, for what am I waiting? You are my only hope.

7 Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

8 Rescue me from my sins; do not make me the reproach of fools.

8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish.

9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth, because it is you who has done it.

9 I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it.

10 Stop wounding me; I am overwhelmed by the blow of your hand.

10 Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11 When you discipline people for sin, you consume the things they desire like a moth; surely all people are nothing but vapor. Selah

11 When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah.

12 Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and listen to me; listen to my weeping! Do not be deaf to me, for I am like a foreigner with you, a refugee like all my ancestors were.

12 “Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.

13 Turn your gaze from me so that I may smile again before I die.”

13 Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go away and exist no more.”

Cross references (13)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

Commentary Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms (Psalm XXXVIII)
What doth this recollection of the Sabbath mean? What is this Sabbath? For it is with groaning that he "calls it to recollection." You have both heard already when the Psalm was read, and you will now hear it when we shall go over it, how great is his groaning, his mourning, his tears, his misery.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
Quotes verse 39:11 Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Book VII, Chapters X–XV)
… feed upon me; nor shall thou convert me, like the food of thy flesh, into thee, but thou shall be converted into me." And I learned that Thou for iniquity dost correct man, and Thou dost make my soul to consume away like a spider. And I said, "Is Truth, therefore, nothing because it is neither diffused through space, finite, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Quotes verse 39:12 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily LXIV)
"For I am a stranger," saith he, "and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." For this man, and all that are like him, let pass them that had sinned, and thought of those who had approved themselves.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Quotes verse 39:5 Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Book XI, Chapters XXII–XXV)
This is my hope; for this do I live, that I may contemplate the delights of the Lord. Behold, Thou hast made my days old, and they pass away, and in what manner I know not.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)

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