Salmos 39:1-6

1 Salmo 39
Para Jedutún, director del coro: salmo de David.
Me dije: «Tendré cuidado con lo que hago
y no pecaré en lo que digo.
Refrenaré la lengua
cuando los que viven sin Dios anden cerca».

2 Pero mientras estaba allí en silencio
—sin siquiera hablar de cosas buenas—,
el torbellino en mi interior se hizo cada vez peor.

3 Cuanto más pensaba,
más me enardecía,
hasta que disparé un fuego de palabras:

4 «S
, recuérdame lo breve que será mi tiempo sobre la tierra.
Recuérdame que mis días están contados,
¡y cuán fugaz es mi vida!

5 La vida que me has dado no es más larga que el ancho de mi mano.
Toda mi vida es apenas un instante para ti;
cuando mucho, cada uno de nosotros es apenas un suspiro».
Interludio

6 Somos tan solo sombras que se mueven
y todo nuestro ajetreo diario termina en la nada.
Amontonamos riquezas
sin saber quién las gastará.

Salmos 39:1-6 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.