I was mute and silent,
I refrained even from good,
And my sorrow grew worse.

“Lord, make me to know my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
I said, “I will guard my ways
That I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”

“Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.

“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.

“Surely every man walks about as a phantom;
Surely they make an uproar for nothing;
He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

“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 like all my fathers.

My heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:

“With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.

“Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again
Before I depart and am no more.”

“I have become mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is You who have done it.

“Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the reproach of the foolish.

“Remove Your plague from me;
Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing.