New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”
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I'm determined to watch steps and tongue so they won't land me in trouble. I decided to hold my tongue as long as Wicked is in the room.
2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;
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"Mum's the word," I said, and kept quiet. But the longer I kept silence The worse it got -
3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
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my insides got hotter and hotter. My thoughts boiled over; I spilled my guts.
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
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"Tell me, what's going on, God? How long do I have to live? Give me the bad news!
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
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You've kept me on pretty short rations; my life is string too short to be saved.
6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
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Oh! we're all puffs of air. Oh! we're all shadows in a campfire. Oh! we're just spit in the wind. We make our pile, and then we leave it.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
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"What am I doing in the meantime, Lord? Hoping, that's what I'm doing - hoping
8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.
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You'll save me from a rebel life, save me from the contempt of dunces.
9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.
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I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this.
10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
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But I can't take it much longer. When you put us through the fire
11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.
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to purge us from our sin, our dearest idols go up in smoke. Are we also nothing but smoke?
12 “Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
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"Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my cry - open your ears. Don't be callous; just look at these tears of mine. I'm a stranger here. I don't know my way - a migrant like my whole family.
13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”
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Give me a break, cut me some slack before it's too late and I'm out of here."
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.