^1. ISAID, �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.�

^2. I was mute [3] and silent, I [2] refrained even from good, And my [1] sorrow grew worse.

^3. My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue:

^4. �LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am.

^5. �Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man [5] at his best is [4] a mere breath.

^6. �Surely every man walks about as [6] a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

^7. �And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.

^8. � Deliver me from all my transgressions; Make me not the reproach of the foolish.

^9. �I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it.

^10. � Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am [7] perishing.

^11. �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.

^12. � 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.

^13. � Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may [8] smile again Before I depart and am no more.�