New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”
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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 But as I stood there in silence— not even speaking of good things— the turmoil within me grew worse.
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"Mum's the word," I said, and kept quiet. But the longer I kept silence The worse it got -
3 The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:
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my insides got hotter and hotter. My thoughts boiled over; I spilled my guts.
4 “ LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— 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 life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude
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You've kept me on pretty short rations; my life is string too short to be saved.
6 We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.
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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 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only 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 Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me.
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You'll save me from a rebel life, save me from the contempt of dunces.
9 I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.
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I'll say no more, I'll shut my mouth, since you, Lord, are behind all this.
10 But please stop striking me! I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
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But I can't take it much longer. When you put us through the fire
11 When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath. Interlude
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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, O LORD ! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.
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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 Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist 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."