Psalms 39:4-13

4 Lord, give me knowledge of my end, and of the measure of my days, so that I may see how feeble I am.

5 You have made my days no longer than a hand's measure; and my years are nothing in your eyes; truly, every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

6 Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.

7 And now, Lord, what am I waiting for? my hope is in you.

8 Make me free from all my sins; do not let me be shamed by the man of evil behaviour.

9 I was quiet, and kept my mouth shut; because you had done it.

10 No longer let your hand be hard on me; I am wasted by the blows of your hand.

11 By the weight of your wrath against man's sin, the glory of his form is wasted away; truly every man is but a breath. (Selah.)

12 Let my prayer come to your ears, O Lord, and give attention to my cry, make an answer to my weeping: for my time here is short before you, and in a little time I will be gone, like all my fathers.

13 Let your wrath be turned away from me, so that I may be comforted, before I go away from here, and become nothing.

Psalms 39:4-13 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, [even] to Jeduthun, a Psalm of David. Some take Jeduthun to be the name of a musical instrument, as Jarchi, on which, and others the first word of a song, to the tune of which, this psalm was sung, as Aben Ezra; though it seems best, with Kimchi and others, to understand it as the name of the chief musician, to whom this psalm was sent to be made use of in public service; since Jeduthun was, with his sons, appointed by David to prophesy with harps and psalteries, and to give praise and thanks unto the Lord, 1 Chronicles 16:41; he is the same with Ethan {s}. The occasion of it is thought, by some, to be the rebellion of his son Absalom; so Theodoret thinks it was written when he fled from Absalom, and was cursed by Shimei; or rather it may be some sore affliction, which lay upon David for the chastisement of him; see Psalm 39:9; and the argument of the psalm seems to be much the same with that of the preceding one, as Kimchi observes.

{s} Vid. Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 513, 805.