Monday, September 24, 2007

Psalm 39 (Contemporary English Version)

(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)
A Prayer for Forgiveness
1I told myself, "I'll be careful

not to sin by what I say,

and I'll muzzle my mouth

when evil people are near."

2I kept completely silent,

but it did no good, [a] and I hurt even worse.

3I felt a fire burning inside,

and the more I thought,

the more it burned,

until at last I said:

4"Please, LORD,

show me my future.

Will I soon be gone?

5You made my life short,

so brief that the time

means nothing to you.

"Human life is but a breath,

6and it disappears

like a shadow.

Our struggles are senseless;

we store up more and more,

without ever knowing

who will get it all.

7"What am I waiting for?

I depend on you, Lord!

8Save me from my sins.

Don't let fools sneer at me.

9You treated me like this,

and I kept silent,

not saying a word.

10"Won't you stop punishing me?

You have worn me down.

11You punish us severely

because of our sins.

Like a moth, you destroy

what we treasure most.

We are as frail as a breath.

12"Listen, LORD, to my prayer!

My eyes are flooded with tears,

as I pray to you.

I am merely a stranger

visiting in your home

as my ancestors did.

13Stop being angry with me

and let me smile again

before I am dead and gone."



vs


Psalm 39 (New International Version)

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

1 I said, "I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence."

2 But when I was silent and still,
not even saying anything good,
my anguish increased.

3 My heart grew hot within me,
and as I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

4 "Show me, O LORD, my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath.
Selah

6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

7 "But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.

8 Save me from all my transgressions;
do not make me the scorn of fools.

9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth,
for you are the one who has done this.

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

11 You rebuke and discipline men for their sin;
you consume their wealth like a moth—
each man is but a breath.
Selah

12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD,
listen to my cry for help;
be not deaf to my weeping.
For I dwell with you as an alien,
a stranger, as all my fathers were.

13 Look away from me, that I may rejoice again
before I depart and am no more."


When i was doing my Bible study I noticed this change but i really like how it is written in the new international version.

" 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Selah"

I noticed this and I got to thinking how our life truly is only as good as the width of our hand. Many people have left a very heavy hand print during their days. It makes me glad that even though life goes very fast I still have a very long time to make a deep imprint on others lives, just as God imprints me.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Several times in the past few years the Lord has shown me imprints of my own hand made many, many years ago, before I was sensitive to His Presence. Some of those were positive, but many more than I care to recall were negative, from the back of the hand, so to speak.

I am so grateful to Jesus Christ that He has granted me a while longer to bring the ledger back into better balance. While He has already balanced it in my favor, I savor the opportunity to work in His favor a while longer.

Praise God that he so favored me...Proverbs 18:22

Sir C