Mazmur 39:3-4

39:3 my anxiety intensified. ¹ 

As I thought about it, I became impatient. ² 

Finally I spoke these words: ³ 

39:4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality

and the brevity of life! ⁴ 

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! ⁵ 

[39:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”

[39:3]  ² tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).

[39:3]  ³ tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[39:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”

[39:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am!”