Mazmur 39:10-12

39:10 Please stop wounding me! ¹ 

You have almost beaten me to death! ² 

39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; ³ 

like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ⁴ 

Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

39:12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Listen to my cry for help!

Do not ignore my sobbing! ⁵ 

For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land;

I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were. ⁶ 

[39:10]  ¹ tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”

[39:10]  ² tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”

[39:11]  ³ tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”

[39:11]  ⁴ tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.

[39:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”

[39:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “For a resident alien [am] I with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.”

[39:12]  sn Resident aliens were dependent on the mercy and goodwill of others. The Lord was concerned that resident aliens be treated properly. See Deut 24:17-22, Ps 146:9.