¹For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David. I decided, “I will watch what I say and make sure I do not sin with my tongue. I will put a muzzle over my mouth while in the presence of an evil person.” ²I was stone silent; I held back the urge to speak. My frustration grew; ³my anxiety intensified. As I thought about it, I became impatient. Finally I spoke these words: ⁴“O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life. Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.⁵Look, you make my days short lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. (Selah)⁶Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”⁷But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope! ⁸Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion. Do not make me the object of fools’ insults. ⁹I am silent and cannot open my mouth because of what you have done. ¹⁰Please stop wounding me. You have almost beaten me to death. ¹¹You severely discipline people for their sins; like a moth you slowly devour their strength. Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)¹²Hear my prayer, O Lord. Listen to my cry for help. Do not ignore my sobbing. For I am a resident foreigner with you, a temporary settler, just as all my ancestors were. ¹³Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy before I pass away.