I Will Watch My Ways 1 UST I thought to myself,“I must be very careful about how I act so that I do not sin by what I say. I must keep myself from speaking while wicked people are near me.” BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
2 UST So I kept completely silent; I did not say anything, not even anything good, but my suffering only became worse. BSB BSB: I was speechless and still; I remained silent, even from speaking good, and my sorrow was stirred.
3 UST I felt very agitated inside me; the more I pondered, the more agonized I became. Then finally I spoke and said, BSB BSB: My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 UST “Yahweh, let me know when I will die. Tell me how many days I have left to live. Help me to understand how short my life really is. BSB BSB: “Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.
5 UST Indeed, you have made my days very few; the time that I have to live is practically nothing to you. Truly, every person appears and disappears as quickly as vapor. Selah BSB BSB: You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
6 UST Truly, each person does not do anything more substantial than a shadow would do. Truly, people become agitated about things that do not matter. They pile up{ wealth}, but they do not know who will get it{ after they die}. BSB BSB: Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
7 UST So now, Lord, I realize that it is useless for me to expect any person to make my life purposeful. You are the only one who can do anything worthwhile for me. BSB BSB: And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
8 UST Please save me from all the ways that I sin against you. Do not let me be someone whom foolish people ridicule. BSB BSB: Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.
9 UST I kept silent and did not say anything, because{ I knew that} you were the one who caused{ me to suffer}. BSB BSB: I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
10 UST { But now,} please stop punishing me! As for me, because you have afflicted me, I am about to die. BSB BSB: Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
11 UST When you correct a person for the wrong things that he has done, you destroy what he treasures, just as moths destroy clothing. Truly, every person lives only a very short time. Selah BSB BSB: You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah
12 UST Yahweh, please hear me as I pray{ to you} and listen{ to me} when I cry out for help. Do not ignore my tears, because I am only living before you{ on the earth} for a short time, a temporary resident, just like all of my ancestors. BSB BSB: Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.
13 UST Please leave me alone in order that I may be happy{ for awhile} before I die.” BSB BSB: Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.