1 I said, "I will watch my ways so as not to sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked is in front of me."
2 I was dumb with silence; I kept quiet, away from good, and my pain was stirred.
3 My heart was hot inside me; in my sighing a fire blazed; I spoke with my tongue:
4 "Let me know, O LORD, my end, and the measure of my days, what it is; let me know how transient I am.
5 Look, you have made my days handbreadths, and my span is like nothing before you. Surely all mankind, even standing firm, is only breath. Selah.
6 Surely a man walks about as a shadow; surely for breath they make an uproar; he piles up and does not know who will gather.
7 And now, what am I waiting for, Lord? My hope is in you.
8 From all my transgressions rescue me; do not make me the reproach of the fool.
9 I have become mute; I will not open my mouth, for you are the one who has acted.
10 Take your blow away from me; by the attack of your hand I am finished.
11 With rebukes for iniquity you correct a man, and like a moth you melt away what he treasures; surely all mankind is breath. Selah.
12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and listen to my cry; do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a stranger with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, so that I may smile again, before I go and am no more."