Psalm 39:12
New International Version
“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

New Living Translation
Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cries for help! Don’t ignore my tears. For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.

English Standard Version
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.

Berean Standard Bible
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

King James Bible
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

New King James Version
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, And give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

New American Standard Bible
“Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry for help; Do not be silent to my tears; For I am a stranger with You, One who lives abroad, like all my fathers.

NASB 1995
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.

NASB 1977
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with Thee, A sojourner like all my fathers.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a sojourner with You, A foreign resident like all my fathers.

Amplified Bible
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and listen to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am Your temporary guest, A sojourner like all my fathers.

Christian Standard Bible
“Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am here with you as an alien, a temporary resident like all my ancestors.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am a foreigner residing with You, a temporary resident like all my fathers.

American Standard Version
Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry; Hold not thy peace at my tears: For I am a stranger with thee, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Contemporary English Version
"Listen, LORD, to my prayer! My eyes are flooded with tears, as I pray to you. I am merely a stranger visiting in your home as my ancestors did.

English Revised Version
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Listen to my prayer, O LORD. Open your ear to my cry for help. Do not be deaf to my tears, for I am a foreign resident with you, a stranger like all my ancestors.

Good News Translation
Hear my prayer, LORD, and listen to my cry; come to my aid when I weep. Like all my ancestors I am only your guest for a little while.

International Standard Version
Hear my prayer, LORD, pay attention to my cry, and do not ignore my tears. I am an alien in your presence, a stranger just like my ancestors were.

Majority Standard Bible
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

NET Bible
Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cry for help! Do not ignore my sobbing! For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land; I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were.

New Heart English Bible
"Hear my prayer, LORD, and give ear to my cry. Do not be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

World English Bible
“Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Hear my prayer, O YHWH, "" And give ear [to] my cry, "" Do not be silent to my tear, "" For I [am] a sojourner with You, "" A settler like all my fathers.

Young's Literal Translation
Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, And to my cry give ear, Unto my tear be not silent, For a sojourner I am with Thee, A settler like all my fathers.

Smith's Literal Translation
Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, and give ear to my cry; thou wilt not be silent at my tears, for I a sojourner with thee, a dweller, as all my fathers.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication : give ear to my tears. Be not silent : for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were.

Catholic Public Domain Version
O Lord, heed my prayer and my supplication. Pay attention to my tears. Do not be silent. For I am a newcomer with you, and a sojourner, just as all my fathers were.

New American Bible
Listen to my prayer, LORD, hear my cry; do not be deaf to my weeping! For I am with you like a foreigner, a refugee, like my ancestors.

New Revised Standard Version
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears; for I am a dweller with thee and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Hear my prayer and my request, LORD JEHOVAH, and give heed to my tears and do not be silent, because I am an inhabitant with you and a Pilgrim, like all my fathers.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; Keep not silence at my tears; For I am a stranger with Thee, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
O Lord, hearken to my prayer and my supplication: attend to my tears: be not silent, for I am a sojourner in the land, and a stranger, as all my fathers were.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
I Will Watch My Ways
11You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah 12Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers. 13Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”…

Cross References
Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

Genesis 23:4
“I am a foreigner and an outsider among you. Give me a burial site among you so that I can bury my dead.”

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Leviticus 25:23
The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.

Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Psalm 119:19
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. / For we walk by faith, not by sight. / We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

John 17:16
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Hebrews 13:14
For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Psalm 119:54
Your statutes are songs to me in the house of my pilgrimage.

1 Peter 1:17
Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.

Genesis 47:9
“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Job 14:1-2
“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. / Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.


Treasury of Scripture

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with you, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

hold

Psalm 56:8
Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

Psalm 116:3
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

2 Samuel 16:12
It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.

for I am

Psalm 119:19,54
I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me…

Leviticus 25:23
The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

as all

Genesis 47:9
And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Jump to Previous
Alien Attention Cry Deaf Dwell Ear Ears Fathers Foreigner Guest Hear Help Hold Little Passing Peace Prayer Short Silence Silent Sojourner Stranger Tears Time Weeping
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Alien Attention Cry Deaf Dwell Ear Ears Fathers Foreigner Guest Hear Help Hold Little Passing Peace Prayer Short Silence Silent Sojourner Stranger Tears Time Weeping
Psalm 39
1. David's care of his thoughts
4. The consideration of the brevity and vanity of life
7. the reverence of God's judgments
10. and prayer, are his bridles of impatience














Hear my prayer, O LORD
The Hebrew word for "hear" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which implies not just the act of hearing but also understanding and responding. The psalmist is pleading for God's attentive presence, emphasizing the personal relationship between the believer and the divine. The use of "O LORD" invokes the covenant name of God, Yahweh, highlighting the psalmist's reliance on God's faithfulness and mercy.

and give ear to my cry for help
The phrase "give ear" translates from the Hebrew "הַאֲזִין" (ha'azin), suggesting an active listening. The "cry for help" indicates a deep, urgent plea, often associated with distress or desperation. This reflects the human condition of vulnerability and the need for divine intervention, reminding believers of the importance of turning to God in times of trouble.

be not deaf to my weeping
Here, "be not deaf" is a plea for God not to ignore the psalmist's sorrow. The Hebrew root "חָרַשׁ" (charash) can mean to be silent or inactive. The "weeping" signifies profound grief or lamentation, a raw expression of the psalmist's emotional state. This phrase underscores the belief that God is compassionate and attentive to the sufferings of His people.

For I am a foreigner dwelling with You
The term "foreigner" comes from the Hebrew "גֵּר" (ger), which refers to a resident alien or sojourner. This reflects the transient nature of human life and the psalmist's acknowledgment of his dependence on God. The phrase "dwelling with You" suggests a sense of belonging and trust in God's presence, despite the temporary and uncertain nature of earthly existence.

a sojourner like all my fathers
"Sojourner" is derived from the Hebrew "תּוֹשָׁב" (toshav), indicating a temporary resident. By referencing "all my fathers," the psalmist connects his experience to the patriarchs, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who lived as sojourners in the land. This historical context reinforces the theme of faith and reliance on God's promises, as well as the continuity of the believer's journey with those who have gone before.

(12) For I am a stranger.--A reminiscence of Genesis 23:4, and adopted 1Peter 2:11 from the LXX. (See New Testament Commentary, and comp. Hebrews 11:13.) The psalmist, like the Apostle, applies Abraham's words metaphorically to this earthly pilgrim age (comp. 1Chronicles 29:15), and pathetically asks why, when the tenure of life is so uncertain, God looks angrily on him? (For the passionate appeal for a respite, comp. Job 10:20-21, and for the Hebrew conception of the under world, Psalm 6:5, Note.) . . . Verse 12. - Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears. Tears appeal to the Divine pity in an especial way. "Weep not!" said our Lord to the widow woman at Nain; and to Mary Magdalene, "Why weepest thou?" He himself offered up his supplications with strong crying and tears" (Hebrews 5:7); and so his faithful servants (Job 16:20: Psalm 6:6; Psalm 42:3; Psalm 56:8; Isaiah 16:9; Isaiah 38:3; Jeremiah 15:17; Lain. 2:11; Luke 7:38; Acts 20:19). Hezekiah's tears especially moved God to pity him (2 Kings 20:5). For I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner. "Here we have no continuing city" (Hebrews 13:14), but are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13). Hence, being so weak and dependent, we may the more confidently claim God's pity. As all my fathers were (comp. Leviticus 25:23, "The land is mine; ye are strangers and sojourners with me ").

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Hear
שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־ (šim·‘āh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

my prayer,
תְפִלָּתִ֨י ׀ (ṯə·p̄il·lā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 8605: Intercession, supplication, a hymn

O LORD,
יְהוָ֡ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

and give ear
הַאֲזִינָה֮ (ha·’ă·zî·nāh)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 238: To broaden out the ear, to listen

to my cry for help;
וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י ׀ (wə·šaw·‘ā·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 7775: A cry for help

do not
אַֽל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

be deaf
תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ (te·ḥĕ·raš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

to
אֶֽל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

my weeping.
דִּמְעָתִ֗י (dim·‘ā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1832: Tears (of one weeping)

For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

I
אָנֹכִ֣י (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

am a foreigner
גֵ֣ר (ḡêr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1616: A guest, a foreigner

dwelling with You,
עִמָּ֑ךְ (‘im·māḵ)
Preposition | second person feminine singular
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

a sojourner
תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב (tō·wō·šāḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8453: Resident alien

like all
כְּכָל־ (kə·ḵāl-)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

my fathers.
אֲבוֹתָֽי׃ (’ă·ḇō·w·ṯāy)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1: Father


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OT Poetry: Psalm 39:12 Hear my prayer Yahweh and give ear (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 39:11
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