1I said, “I will guard my ways,
so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was silent and still;
not even saying anything good,
but my anguish grew worse.
3 My heart grew hot within me.
and as I meditated, the fire burned within;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “O LORD, let me know my life’s end,
and the number of my days;
let me know how brief my life is.
5You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my life is as nothing before You;
the life in every man is but a vapour. Selah
6 Man walks about as but a shadow;
busily he rushes himself around in vain;
he heaps up riches, without knowing who will get them.
7 “But now, O LORD, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not let me be the scorn of fools.
9I remain silent;
I do not open my mouth
because of what You have done.
10 “Remove Your scourge away from me;
I am overcome by the blow of Your hand.
11When You rebuke and correct man for iniquity,
You consume like a moth what is precious to him;
surely each man is but a mere breath. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for help;
do not remain silent at my weeping.
For I am a foreigner dwelling with You;
a stranger, like all my fathers were.
13 Remove Your gaze from me, so that I may find happiness again,
before I depart and am no more.”