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Psalm 39:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 39:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 [a]“O Lord, let me know my end
and the number of days left to me;
show me how fleeting my life is.
6 You have allotted me a short span of days;
my life is as nothing in your sight;
human existence is a mere breath. Selah
7 Humans are nothing but a passing shadow;
the riches they amass are a mere breath,
and they do not know who will enjoy them.[b]
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:5 The psalmist begs God to help him know and accept the brevity and vanity of life, a brevity and vanity stressed in other psalms (see Pss 62:10; 73:19; 90:10-11) and in Isa 40:17.
- Psalm 39:7 This passage is reminiscent of Ecclesiastes.
Psalm 39:5-7
New International Version
Psalm 39:5-7
New International Version
5 You have made my days(A) a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,(B)
even those who seem secure.[a]
6 “Surely everyone goes around(C) like a mere phantom;(D)
in vain they rush about,(E) heaping up wealth(F)
without knowing whose it will finally be.(G)
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.(H)
Footnotes
- Psalm 39:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 11.
New International Version (NIV) 
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