| 1 | I said, 'I will watch my ways, so that I don't sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.' |
| 2 | I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred. |
| 3 | My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned: I spoke with my tongue: |
| 4 | 'Yahweh, make me to know my end, What is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am. |
| 5 | Behold, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.' Selah. |
| 6 | 'Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn't know who shall gather. |
| 7 | Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. |
| 8 | Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don't make me the reproach of the foolish. |
| 9 | I was mute, I didn't open my mouth, Because you did it. |
| 10 | Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand. |
| 11 | When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, You consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.' Selah. |
| 12 | 'Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don't be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, A sojourner, as all my fathers were. |
| 13 | Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, Before I go away, and be no more.' Psalm 40 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. |