“Lord, let me know my end, And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Yahweh, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am.
- KJV LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.
- BSB “Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.
- NKJV “Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.
- NLT “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks God to teach him how brief and frail his life is. He seeks wisdom about his mortality.
Overview
Rather than cursing his trouble, David prays to grasp the shortness of his days. Understanding human frailty puts suffering and ambition in perspective. This is the prayer of Psalm 90:12, to number our days and gain a heart of wisdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ps 90:12So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
- Ps 103:14For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.
- Job 14:13“Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
- Ps 119:84How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 39:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.