| 1 | I said, "I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth, so long as the wicked are in my presence." |
| 2 | I was dumb and silent, I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, |
| 3 | my heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: |
| 4 | "LORD, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is! |
| 5 | Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight. Surely every man stands as a mere breath! [Selah] |
| 6 | Surely man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nought are they in turmoil; man heaps up, and knows not who will gather! |
| 7 | "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in thee. |
| 8 | Deliver me from all my transgressions. Make me not the scorn of the fool! |
| 9 | I am dumb, I do not open my mouth; for it is thou who hast done it. |
| 10 | Remove thy stroke from me; I am spent by the blows of thy hand. |
| 11 | When thou dost chasten man with rebukes for sin, thou dost consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely every man is a mere breath! [Selah] |
| 12 | "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears! For I am thy passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers. |
| 13 | Look away from me, that I may know gladness, before I depart and be no more!" |
| 1 | Blessed is he who considers the poor! The LORD delivers him in the day of trouble; |
| 2 | the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; thou dost not give him up to the will of his enemies. |
| 3 | The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness thou healest all his infirmities. |
| 4 | As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against thee!" |
| 5 | My enemies say of me in malice: "When will he die, and his name perish?" |
| 6 | And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers mischief; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. |
| 7 | All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. |
| 8 | They say, "A deadly thing has fastened upon him; he will not rise again from where he lies." |
| 9 | Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me. |
| 10 | But do thou, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them! |
| 11 | By this I know that thou art pleased with me, in that my enemy has not triumphed over me. |
| 12 | But thou hast upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in thy presence for ever. |
| 13 | Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. |
