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Psalms 39:1-11
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Psalm 39
1For the music leader. To Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
1 I promised I would watch my steps so as not to sin with my tongue; promised to keep my mouth shut as long as the wicked were in my presence.
2
So I was completely quiet, silent. I kept my peace, but it did no good. My pain got worse.
3
My heart got hot inside me; while stewing over it, the fire burned. Then I spoke out with my tongue:
4
"Let me know my end, LORD. How many days do I have left? I want to know how brief my time is."
5
You've made my days so short; my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes. Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air! Selah
6
Yes, people wander around like shadows; yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly; they don't even know who will get the wealth they've amassed.
7
So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for? My hope is set on you.
8
Deliver me from all my sins; don't make me some foolish person's joke.
9
I am completely silent; I won't open my mouth because you have acted.
10
Get this plague of yours off me! I'm being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
11
You discipline people for their sin, punishing them; like a moth, you ruin what they treasure. Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! Selah
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Psalms 39:1-11 Meaning and Commentary
To the chief Musician, [even] to Jeduthun, a Psalm of David. Some take Jeduthun to be the name of a musical instrument, as Jarchi, on which, and others the first word of a song, to the tune of which, this psalm was sung, as Aben Ezra; though it seems best, with Kimchi and others, to understand it as the name of the chief musician, to whom this psalm was sent to be made use of in public service; since Jeduthun was, with his sons, appointed by David to prophesy with harps and psalteries, and to give praise and thanks unto the Lord, 1 Chronicles 16:41; he is the same with Ethan {s}. The occasion of it is thought, by some, to be the rebellion of his son Absalom; so Theodoret thinks it was written when he fled from Absalom, and was cursed by Shimei; or rather it may be some sore affliction, which lay upon David for the chastisement of him; see Psalm 39:9; and the argument of the psalm seems to be much the same with that of the preceding one, as Kimchi observes.
{s} Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 513, 805.
{s} Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 513, 805.
Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible