Psalms 39:13

13 Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness before I go away and am no more.

Psalms 39:13 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 39:13

O spare me
Or "look from me" F6; turn away thy fierce countenance from me; or "cease from me F7, and let me alone"; as in ( Job 10:20 ) ; from whence the words seem to be taken, by what follows:

that I may recover strength;
both corporeal and spiritual:

before I go hence;
out of this world by death:

and be no more;
that is, among men in the land of the living; not but that he believed he should exist after death, and should be somewhere, even in heaven, though he should return no more to the place where he was; see ( Job 10:20 Job 10:21 ) , when a man is born, he comes into the world; when he dies, he goes out of it; a phrase frequently used for death in Scripture; so the ancient Heathens called death "abitio", a going away {h}.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (ynmm evh) "respice aliorsum a me", Gejerus; "averte visum a me", Michaelis.
F7 "Desine a me", Pagninus; "desiste a me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "cessa a me", Vatablus.
F8 Fest. Pomp. apud Schindler. Lexic. col. 440.

Psalms 39:13 In-Context

11 You punish our sins by your rebukes, and like a moth you destroy what we love. Indeed we are no more than a puff of wind!
12 Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry; come to my aid when I weep. Like all my ancestors I am only your guest for a little while.
13 Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness before I go away and am no more.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.