God’s Word Translation
Psalms 39:4
4“Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life. Teach me about the number of days I have left so that I may know how temporary my life is.
Psalms 39:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.
- New International Version (NIV)“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.
Context of Psalms 39:4
2I remained totally speechless. I kept silent, although it did me no good. While I was deep in thought, my pain grew worse. 3My heart burned like a fire flaring up within me. Then I spoke with my tongue: “Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life. Teach me about the number of days I have left so that I may know how temporary my life is. 5Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⌞only⌟ a few inches. My life span is nothing compared to yours. Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. Selah 6Each person who walks around is like a shadow. They are busy for no reason. They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.”
Read all of Psalms 39Psalms 39:4 word by word
הוֹדִ֘יעֵ֤נִי יְהוָ֨ה׀ קִצִּ֗י וּמִדַּ֣ת יָמַ֣י מַה־הִ֑יא אֵ֝דְעָ֗ה מֶה־חָדֵ֥ל אָֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 39:4
- Psalms 90:12Teach us to number each of our days so that we may grow in wisdom.
- Psalms 119:84What is left of my life? When will you bring those who persecute me to justice?
- Job 14:13I wish you would hide me in Sheol and keep me hidden there until your anger cools. Set a specific time for me when you will remember me.
Commentaries on Psalms 39:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Lord, make me to know mine end - I am weary of life; I wish to know the measure of my days, that I may see how long I have to suffer, and how frail I am. I wish to know what is wanting to make up the number of the days I have to live.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Lord, make me to know mine end - This expresses evidently the substance of those anxious and troubled thoughts Psalm 39:1-2 to which he had been unwilling to give utterance. His thoughts turned on the shortness of life; on the mystery of the divine arrangement by which it had been made so short; and on the fact that so many troubles and sorrows had been crowded into a life so frail and so soon to terminate. With some impatience, and with a consciousness…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5how fleeting my life is: This perspective comes out of suffering (see Psalms 78:39; 89:47–48; 90:3–10). The human lifetime is but a moment to God (Psalm 90:4), as temporary as a breath (see Psalms 39:11; 144:4).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-74-7. Some take these words as those of fretting, but they are not essentially such. The tinge of discontent arises from the character of his suppressed emotions. But, addressing God, they are softened and subdued. make me to know mine end--experimentally appreciate. how frail I am--literally, "when I shall cease."Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 39:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 39
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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