Psalm 39:12

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.

Psalm 39:12 in Other Translations

12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.

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.

12 "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.

12 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry; Hold not thy peace at my tears: For I am a stranger with thee, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

12 Listen to my prayer, O LORD. Open your ear to my cry for help. Do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a foreign resident with you, a stranger like all my ancestors.

12 "Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am a foreigner residing with You, a sojourner like all my fathers.

12 "Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my sobbing. I'm like a guest in your home. I'm only a visitor, like all of my family who lived before me.

Psalm 39:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 39:12

Hear my prayer, O Lord
Which was, that he would remove the affliction from him that lay so hard and heavy upon him;

and give ear unto my cry;
which shows the distress he was in, and the vehemency with which he put up his petition to the Lord;

hold not thy peace at my tears;
which were shed in great plenty, through the violence of the affliction, and in his fervent prayers to God; see ( Hebrews 5:7 ) ;

for I [am] a stranger with thee;
not to God, to Christ, to the Spirit, to the saints, to himself, and the plague of his own heart, or to the devices of Satan; but in the world, and to the men of it; being unknown to them, and behaving as a stranger among them; all which was known to God, and may be the meaning of the phrase "with thee"; or reference may be had to the land of Canaan, in which David dwelt, and which was the Lord's, and in which the Israelites dwelt as strangers and sojourners with him, ( Leviticus 25:23 ) ; as it follows here;

[and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were];
meaning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their posterity; see ( Genesis 23:4 ) ( 35:27 ) ( Psalms 105:23 ) ; as are all the people of God in this world: this is not their native place; they belong to another and better country; their citizenship is in heaven; their Father's house is there, and there is their inheritance, which they have a right unto, and a meetness for: they have no settlement here; nor is their rest and satisfaction in the things of this world: they reckon themselves, while here, as not at home, but in a foreign land; and this the psalmist mentions, to engage the Lord to regard his prayers, since he has so often expressed a concern for the strangers and sojourners in the land of Israel.

Psalm 39:12 In-Context

10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.

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.

13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”

Cross References

• 1. S Psalms 17:1
• 2. S Deuteronomy 1:45
• 3. S 2 Kings 20:5
• 4. Leviticus 25:23; 1 Peter 2:11
• 5. S Genesis 23:4; S Hebrews 11:13
• 6. S Genesis 47:9; S 1 Chronicles 29:15