39 1-3 I’m determined to watch steps and tongue
    so they won’t land me in trouble.
I decided to hold my tongue
    as long as Wicked is in the room.
“Mum’s the word,” I said, and kept quiet.
    But the longer I kept silence
The worse it got—
    my insides got hotter and hotter.
My thoughts boiled over;
    I spilled my guts.

4-6 “Tell me, what’s going on, God?
    How long do I have to live?
    Give me the bad news!
You’ve kept me on pretty short rations;
    my life is a string too short to be saved.
Oh! we’re all puffs of air.
    Oh! we’re all shadows in a campfire.
Oh! we’re just spit in the wind.
    We make our pile, and then we leave it.

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    my heart grew hot(A) within me.
While I meditated,(B) the fire(C) burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
    and the number of my days;(D)
    let me know how fleeting(E) my life is.(F)
You have made my days(G) a mere handbreadth;
    the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,(H)
    even those who seem secure.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.