Psalm 39–41

PSALM 39

Yahweh, Make Me Know My End

For the choir director. For ^†Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will ^akeep watch over my ways

That I ^bmay not sin with my tongue;

I will keep watch over ^cmy mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was ^amute with silence,

I even kept silent from speaking good,

And my anguish grew worse.

³My ^aheart was hot within me,

While I meditated the fire was burning;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Yahweh, cause 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 ¹handbreadths,

And my ^blifetime as nothing before You;

Surely every man, even standing firm, is ²altogether ^cvanity. ³Selah.

⁶“Surely every man ^awalks about as ¹a shadow;

Surely they make an ^buproar in vain;

He ^cpiles up riches and does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, what do I hope in?

My ^aexpectation is in You.

⁸“^aDeliver me from all my transgressions;

Make me not the ^breproach of the wicked fool.

⁹“I have become ^amute, I do not open my mouth,

Because it is ^bYou who have done it.

¹⁰“^aRemove Your plague from me;

Because of ^bthe opposition of Your hand I am wasting away.

¹¹“With ^areproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;

You ^bconsume as a moth what is precious to him;

Surely ^cevery man is vanity. Selah.

¹²“^aHear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help;

Do not be silent ^bat my tears;

For I am ^ca sojourner with You,

A ^dforeign resident like all my fathers.

¹³“^aTurn Your gaze away from me, that I may ¹smile again

Before I go and am no more.”

PSALM 40

The One Who Rescues Me

For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.

¹I ^ahoped ¹earnestly for Yahweh;

And He inclined to me and ^bheard my cry for help.

²He brought me up out of the ^apit of destruction, out of the ¹miry clay,

And ^bHe set my feet upon a high rock, ^cHe established my steps.

³He put a ^anew song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will ^bsee and fear

And will trust in Yahweh.

⁴How ^ablessed is the man who has made Yahweh his trust,

And ^bhas not ¹turned to the proud, nor to those who ^cstray into falsehood.

⁵Many, O Yahweh my God, are ^athe wondrous deeds You have done,

And Your ^bthoughts toward us;

There is none to compare with You.

I would declare and speak of them,

But they ^care too numerous to recount.

^61aSacrifice and meal offering ²You have not desired;

My ears You have ³opened;

Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

⁷Then I said, “Behold, I come;

In the scroll of the book it is ¹written of me.

⁸“^aI desire to do Your will, O my God;

^bYour law is within my inner being.”

⁹I ^aproclaim good news of righteousness in the great assembly;

Behold, I do ^bnot restrain my lips,

O Yahweh, ^cYou know.

¹⁰I do ^anot conceal Your righteousness within my heart;

I ^bspeak of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I do not hide Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

¹¹You, O Yahweh, will not withhold Your compassion from me;

¹Your ^alovingkindness and Your truth will continually guard me.

¹²For evils beyond number have ^asurrounded me;

My ^biniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;

They are ^cmore numerous than the hairs of my head,

And my ^dheart has ¹failed me.

^13aBe pleased, O Yahweh, to deliver me;

Make ^bhaste, O Yahweh, to help me.

¹⁴Let those be ^aashamed and humiliated together

Who ^bseek my ¹life to sweep it away;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight in ²evil against me.

¹⁵Let those ^abe ¹appalled because of their shame

Who ^bsay to me, “Aha, aha!”

^16aLet all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

Let those who love Your salvation ^bsay continually,

“Yahweh be magnified!”

¹⁷As for me, ^aI am afflicted and needy,

^1bMay the Lord think of me.

You are my help and the One who rescues me;

Do not delay, O my God.

PSALM 41

O Yahweh, Be Gracious to Me

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹How blessed is he who ^aconsiders the ¹poor;

Yahweh will provide him escape ^bin a day of ²calamity.

²Yahweh will ^akeep him and keep him alive,

And he shall be ^bblessed upon the earth;

And ^cdo not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

³Yahweh will sustain him upon his sickbed;

In his illness, You ¹restore him to health.

⁴As for me, I said, “O Yahweh, be gracious to me;

^aHeal my soul, for ^bI have sinned against You.”

⁵My enemies ^aspeak evil against me,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

⁶And ¹when he comes to see me, he ^aspeaks ²worthlessness;

His heart gathers wickedness to itself;

When he goes outside, he speaks it.

⁷All who hate me whisper together against me;

Against me, they ^adevise for me ¹calamity, saying,

⁸“A vile thing is poured out ¹upon him,

That when he lies down, he will ^anot rise up again.”

⁹Even my ^aclose friend in whom I trusted,

Who ate my bread,

Has lifted up his heel against me.

¹⁰But You, O Yahweh, be gracious to me and ^araise me up,

That I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that ^aYou delight in me,

Because ^bmy enemy makes no shout in triumph over me.

¹²As for me, ^aYou uphold me in my integrity,

And You make me ^bstand firm in Your presence forever.

^13aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,

From everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen.