Psalm 39:1–6
1 I said, “I will aguard my ways
That I bmay not sin with my tongue;
I will guard cmy mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
I 2refrained even from good,
And my 3sorrow grew worse.
3 My aheart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know amy end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how btransient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made amy days as handbreadths,
And my blifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man 1at his best is 2a mere cbreath.
3Selah.
6 “Surely every man awalks about as 1a phantom;
Surely they make an buproar for nothing;
He camasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”
2 So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
3 my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.
Psalm 39:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 I said, “I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
Psalm 39:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 I said, I will take heed to my ways,
That I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
While the wicked is before me.
2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned:
Then spake I with my tongue,
4 Lord, Make me to know mine end,
And the measure of my days, what it is;
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
And mine age is as nothing before thee:
Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
Surely they are disquieted in vain:
He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 I said to myself, “I will watch what I do
and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
when the ungodly are around me.”
2 But as I stood there in silence—
not even speaking of good things—
the turmoil within me grew worse.
3 The more I thought about it,
the hotter I got,
igniting a fire of words:
4 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
Interlude
6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
Psalm 39:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 I said, “I will be careful how I act
and will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people.”
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good,
but I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside,
and as I thought about it, my anger burned.
So I spoke:
4 “Lord, tell me when the end will come
and how long I will live.
Let me know how long I have.
5 You have given me only a short life;
my lifetime is like nothing to you.
Everyone’s life is only a breath.
Selah
6 People are like shadows moving about.
All their work is for nothing;
they collect things but don’t know who will get them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 I said, I will take heed to my ways,
That I sin not with my tongue:
I will keep my mouth with a bridle,
While the wicked is before me.
2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing the fire burned:
Then spake I with my tongue:
4 Jehovah, make me to know mine end,
And the measure of my days, what it is;
Let me know how frail I am.
5 Behold, thou hast made my days as handbreadths;
And my life-time is as nothing before thee:
Surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity. Selah
6 Surely every man walketh in a vain show;
Surely they are disquieted in vain:
He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked is before me. 2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace from good; and my sorrow was stirred. 3 My heart burned within me; the fire was kindled in my musing: I spoke with my tongue, 4 Make me to know, Jehovah, mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: I shall know how frail I am. 5 Behold, thou hast made my days as hand-breadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before thee; verily, every man, even the high placed, is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Verily, man walketh in a vain show; verily they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 I said,
“I will watch my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will bridle my mouth while wicked people are in my presence.”
2 I remained totally speechless.
I kept silent, although it did me no good.
While I was deep in thought, my pain grew worse.
3 My heart burned like a fire flaring up within me.
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life.
Teach me about the number of days I have left
so that I may know how temporary my life is.
5 Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⸤only⸥ a few inches.
My life span is nothing compared to yours.
Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind.
Selah
6 Each person who walks around is like a shadow.
They are busy for no reason.
They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.”
Psalm 39:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was speechless and quiet;
I kept silent, even from speaking good,
and my pain intensified.
3 My heart grew hot within me;
as I mused, a fire burned.
I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, reveal to me the end of my life
and the number of my days.
Let me know how short-lived I am.
5 You, indeed, have made my days short in length,
and my life span as nothing in Your sight.
Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor. Selah
6 “Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.
Psalm 39:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end,
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
Psalm 39:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle over my mouth
as long as the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence. I was silent even from saying good things,
and my pain was stirred up.
3 My heart grew hot inside me;
in my sighing a fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue,
4 “Let me know, O Yahweh, my end,
and what is the measure of my days.
Let me know how transient I am.”
5 Look, you have made my days mere handbreadths,
and my lifespan as nothing next to you.
Surely every person standing firm is complete vanity. Selah
6 Surely a man walks about as a mere shadow;
surely in vain they bustle about.
He heaps up possessions but does not know who will gather them in.
Psalm 39:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 I said, “I will be careful about how I live.
I will not sin by what I say.
I will keep my mouth closed
when sinful people are near me.”
2 I was silent and kept quiet.
I didn’t even say anything good.
But the pain inside me grew worse.
3 My heart was deeply troubled.
As I thought about what was happening to me,
I became even more troubled.
Then I spoke out.
4 I said, “Lord, show me when my life will end.
Show me how many days I have left.
Tell me how short my life will be.
5 You have given me only a few days to live.
My whole life doesn’t seem like anything to you.
No man’s life lasts any longer than a breath. Selah
6 People are only shadows as they go here and there.
They rush around, but it doesn’t mean anything.
They pile up wealth, but they don’t know who will get it.