Oratio: Hear My Prayer, O Lord

⁴ “O Lord, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
⁵ Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
⁶     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing^[a] they are in turmoil;
    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷ “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
⁹ I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰ Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
¹¹ When you discipline a man
    with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

¹² “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.