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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.” 

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.

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.

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.

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.