Psalm 39:13

13 "¹Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more."

Psalm 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}.

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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.

Psalm 39:13 In-Context

11 "With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.

12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD , and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.

13 "Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more."

Cross References

• 1. Job 7:19; Job 10:20, 21; Job 14:6; Psalms 102:24

Footnotes

• [a] Or "become cheerful"