Understand every verse you read with Bible Gateway Plus. Read Scripture ad-free and access trusted study tools beside every passage. Try it FREE for 7 days.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Psalm 39
New King James Version

### Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

#### To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39 I said, “I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my (A)tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
2 (B)I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.
3 My heart was hot within me;
While I was [a]musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “Lord, (C)make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but (D)vapor. Selah
6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they [b]busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.

7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My (E)hope is in You.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me (F)the reproach of the foolish.
9 (G)I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was (H)You who did it.
10 (I)Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty (J)melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor. Selah

12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, (K)as all my fathers were.
13 (L)Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and (M)am no more.”

#### Footnotes

1. Psalm 39:3 meditating
2. Psalm 39:6 make an uproar for nothing

#### Cross references

1. Psalm 39:1 : Job 2:10; Ps. 34:13; [James 3:5–12]
2. Psalm 39:2 : Ps. 38:13
3. Psalm 39:4 : Ps. 90:12; 119:84
4. Psalm 39:5 : Ps. 62:9; [Eccl. 6:12]
5. Psalm 39:7 : Ps. 38:15
6. Psalm 39:8 : Ps. 44:13; 79:4; 119:22
7. Psalm 39:9 : Ps. 39:2
8. Psalm 39:9 : 2 Sam. 16:10; Job 2:10
9. Psalm 39:10 : Job 9:34; 13:21
10. Psalm 39:11 : Job 13:28; [Ps. 90:7]; Is. 50:9
11. Psalm 39:12 : Gen. 47:9; Lev. 25:23; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 119:19; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11
12. Psalm 39:13 : Job 7:19; 10:20, 21; 14:6; Ps. 102:24
13. Psalm 39:13 : [Job 14:10]

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NKJV, The Everyday Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: 365 Daily Readings Through the Whole Bible
Retail: $29.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $9.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Woman's Study Bible, Red Letter, Full-Color: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $13.99
Save: $5.99 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Gift and Award Bible, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $6.99
Save: $3.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Bible Study Bible, Comfort Print: A Study Guide for Every Chapter of the Bible
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles