Psalm 39:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more!"

NIV: Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more."

NASB: Turn Your eyes away from me, that I may become cheerful again Before I depart and am no more.'

CSB: Turn your angry gaze from me so that I may be cheered up before I die and am gone."

NLT: Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.

KJV: O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

NKJV: Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, Before I go away and am no more.”

David closes his prayer with an unusual request: that God would look away from him. David has already expressed his confidence that the Lord is his one and only hope (Psalm 39:7). He has repented of sin and asked God to be merciful (Psalm 39:8–11). This request connects to the idea of being under God's holy and righteous judgment (Amos 9:8; Psalm 11:4). All sin is repulsive to God (Psalm 5:4–6). Part of repentance is recognizing that our sins have offended Him.

Having repented and admitted sin, David asks for God to give him a renewed sense of peace and confidence. He knew he would smile again with joy in his heart if the Lord would remove His discipline. He understood that life is fleeting and before long he would depart this life and "be no more." "Be no more" doesn't mean cease to exist. Rather, it means an end to David's earthly, temporary travel (Psalm 39:4–6, 12). In his famous shepherd psalm, David writes, "I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:6).

Knowing that his martyrdom was imminent, the apostle Paul looked forward to the end of his earthly life. He was eagerly anticipating the beginning of his life in heaven with the Lord. He writes in 2 Timothy 4:6, "The time of my departure has come." He expected that departure to lead to a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).

Psalm 39:8–13 closes as David repents of sin. After expressing his need for humility and perspective, David suggests that some of his current struggles are the result of his own sin. This suggests that God is disciplining David through these experiences. As observed in the first part of the psalm, life is brief. David does not want to spend what little time he has under the Lord's chastening hand. He wants to spend his days at peace with the Lord and with joy in his soul.

David chooses not to speak in the presence of certain evil people. This might have been to avoid slander, or to not speak unfairly about God. In frustration, David calls on God to adjust his perspective. He asks to be reminded of life's brevity; the Lord's infinite perspective makes our troubles seem small. David acknowledges his sin and that God has disciplined him. Even so, he places all his hope in the Lord.

This psalm is related to Psalm 38. Both focus on David's response to sin and the hardships which life brings. Rather than speaking out against wicked people, David asks God to remind him of the brevity of life. Job 7:16–17 parallels the themes found in this psalm. Likewise does Psalm 90. No specific incident is tied to this writing, but it may have been inspired by David's sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:7–9).

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.