Psalms 39:13

13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart 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 chastise mortals in punishment for sin, consuming like a moth what is dear to them; surely everyone is a mere breath. (Selah)
12 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.