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."
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.