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Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Psalms 39:9

I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou art he that made me.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Resignation;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflicted Saints;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Diseases;   Jeduthun;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Sanctification;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Dumb;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Muteness;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Jeduthun;   Mourning Customs;   Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Dumb;   Psalms, Book of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Adoration;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I am speechless; I do not open my mouthbecause of what you have done.
Hebrew Names Version
I was mute, I didn't open my mouth, Because you did it.
King James Version
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
English Standard Version
I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
New Century Version
I am quiet; I do not open my mouth, because you are the one who has done this.
New English Translation
I am silent and cannot open my mouth because of what you have done.
Amplified Bible
"I am mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who has done it.
New American Standard Bible
"I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it.
World English Bible
I was mute, I didn't open my mouth, Because you did it.
Geneva Bible (1587)
I should haue bene dumme, and not haue opened my mouth, because thou didest it.
Legacy Standard Bible
I have become mute, I do not open my mouth,Because it is You who have done it.
Berean Standard Bible
I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because it is You who have done this.
Contemporary English Version
You treated me like this, and I kept silent, not saying a word.
Complete Jewish Bible
Rescue me from all my transgressions; don't make me the butt of fools.
Darby Translation
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; for *thou* hast done [it].
Easy-to-Read Version
I will not open my mouth. I will not say anything. You did what should have been done.
George Lamsa Translation
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.
Good News Translation
I will keep quiet, I will not say a word, for you are the one who made me suffer like this.
Lexham English Bible
I am mute. I do not open my mouth, for you, yourself, have done it.
Literal Translation
I was mute; I did not open my mouth, because You had done it .
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Delyuer me from all myne offences, and make me not a scorne vnto the foolish.
American Standard Version
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; Because thou didst it.
Bible in Basic English
I was quiet, and kept my mouth shut; because you had done it.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the base.
King James Version (1611)
I was dumbe, I opened not my mouth; because thou diddest it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
I became dumbe, and opened not my mouth: for it was thy doyng.
English Revised Version
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
I was doumbe, and openyde not my mouth; for thou hast maad,
Update Bible Version
I was mute, I did not open my mouth; Because you did it.
Webster's Bible Translation
I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst [it].
New King James Version
I was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did it.
New Living Translation
I am silent before you; I won't say a word, for my punishment is from you.
New Life Bible
I cannot speak. I do not open my mouth because it is You Who has done it.
New Revised Standard
I am silent; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I am dumb, I cannot open my mouth, for, thou, hast done it.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(38-10) I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done it.
Revised Standard Version
I am dumb, I do not open my mouth; for it is thou who hast done it.
Young's Literal Translation
I have been dumb, I open not my mouth, Because Thou -- Thou hast done [it].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, Because it is You who have done it.

Contextual Overview

7 And now what is my expectation? is it not the Lord? and my ground of hope is with thee. Pause. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: thou hast made me a reproach to the foolish. 9 I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou art he that made me. 10 Remove thy scourges from me: I have fainted by reason of the strength of thine hand. 11 Thou chastenest man with rebukes for iniquity, and thou makest his life to consume away like a spider’s web; nay, every man is disquieted in vain. Pause. 12 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. 13 Spare me, that I may be refreshed, before I depart, and be no more.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 38:13, Leviticus 10:3, 1 Samuel 3:18, 2 Samuel 16:10, Job 1:21, Job 2:10, Job 40:4, Job 40:5, Daniel 4:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 34:5 - held Leviticus 26:41 - and they Ruth 1:13 - the hand 2 Samuel 12:20 - arose 2 Samuel 15:26 - let 2 Kings 4:26 - It is well 2 Kings 20:19 - Good Job 21:5 - lay your Isaiah 38:15 - What Isaiah 39:8 - Good Jeremiah 10:19 - Truly Jeremiah 31:18 - Thou hast Lamentations 3:28 - General Ezekiel 16:63 - and never Ezekiel 24:17 - Forbear to cry Amos 8:3 - with silence Jonah 4:8 - and wished Mark 14:61 - he held Luke 23:9 - but John 19:11 - Thou Acts 8:32 - opened

Cross-References

Genesis 20:3
And God came to Abimelech by night in sleep, and said, Behold, thou diest for the woman, whom thou hast taken, whereas she has lived with a husband.
Genesis 20:6
And God said to him in sleep, Yea, I knew that thou didst this with a pure heart, and I spared thee, so that thou shouldest not sin against me, therefore I suffered thee not to touch her.
Genesis 24:2
And Abraam said to his servant the elder of his house, who had rule over all his possessions, Put thy hand under my thigh,
Genesis 39:8
But he would not; but said to his master’s wife, If because of me my master knows nothing in his house, and has given into my hands all things that belong to him:
Genesis 39:9
and in this house there is nothing above me, nor has anything been kept back from me, but thou, because thou art his wife—how then shall I do this wicked thing, and sin against God?
Genesis 39:10
And when she talked with Joseph day by day, and he hearkened not to her to sleep with her, so as to be with her,
Genesis 39:12
And she caught hold of him by his clothes, and said, Lie with me; and having left his clothes in her hands, he fled, and went forth.
Genesis 39:19
And it came to pass, when his master heard all the words of his wife, that she spoke to him, saying, Thus did thy servant to me, that he was very angry.
Genesis 39:21
And the Lord was with Joseph, and poured down mercy upon him; and he gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison.
Genesis 41:40
Thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall be obedient to thy word; only in the throne will I excel thee.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I was dumb, I opened not my mouth,.... This refers either to his former silence, before he broke it, Psalms 39:1, or to what he after that came into again, when he had seen the folly of his impatience, the frailty of his life, the vanity of man, and all human affairs, and had been directed to place his hope and confidence in the Lord, Psalms 39:5; or to the present frame of his mind, and his future conduct, he had resolved upon; and may be rendered, "I am dumb"; or "will be dumb, and will not open my mouth" e; that is, not in a complaining and murmuring way against the Lord, but be still, and know or own that he is God;

because thou didst [it]; not "because thou hast made me", as Austin reads the, words, and as the Arabic version renders them, "because thou hast created me"; though the consideration of God being a Creator lays his creatures under obligation as to serve him, so to be silent under his afflicting hand upon them; but the sense is, that the psalmist was determined to be patient and quiet under his affliction, because God was the author of it; for though he is not the author of the evil of sin, yet of the evil of affliction; see Amos 3:6; and it is a quieting consideration to a child of God under it, that it comes from God, who is a sovereign Being, and does what he pleases; and does all things well and wisely, in truth and faithfulness, and in mercy and loving kindness: this some refer to the rebellion of Absalom, and the cursing of Shimei, 2 Samuel 12:11; or it may refer to the death of his child, 2 Samuel 12:22; or rather to some sore affliction upon himself; since it follows,

e לא אפתח "non aperiam", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Gejerus; so Ainsworth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I was dumb - See the notes at Psalms 39:2. Compare Isaiah 53:7. The meaning here is, that he did not open his mouth to complain; he did not speak of God as if he had dealt unkindly or unjustly with him.

I opened not my mouth - I kept entire silence. This would be better rendered, “I am dumb; I will not open my mouth.” The meaning is, not that he had been formerly silent and uncomplaining, but that he was now silenced, or that his mind was now calm, and that he acquiesced in the dealings of Divine Providence. The state of mind here, if should be further observed, is not that which is described in Psalms 39:2. There he represents himself as mute, or as restraining himself from uttering what was in his mind, because he felt that it would do harm, by encouraging the wicked in their views of God and of his government; here he says that he was now silenced - he acquiesced - he had no disposition to say anything against the government of God. He was mute, not by putting a restraint on himself, but because he had nothing to say.

Because thou didst it - thou hast done that which was so mysterious to me; that about which I was so much disposed to complain; that which has overwhelmed me with affliction and sorrow. It is now, to my mind, a sufficient reason for silencing all my complains, and producing entire acquiescence, that it has been done by thee. That fact is to me sufficient proof that it is right, and wise, and good; that fact makes my mind calm. “The best proof that anything is right and best is that it is done by God.” The most perfect calmness and peace in trouble is produced, not when we rely on our own reasonings, or when we attempt to comprehend and explain a mystery, but when we direct our thoughts simply to the fact that “God has done it.” This is the highest reason that can be presented to the human mind, that what is done is right; this raises the mind above the mysteriousness of what is done, and makes it plain that it should be done; this leaves the reasons why it is done, where they should be left, with God. This consideration will calm down the feelings when nothing else would do it, and dispose the mind, even under the deepest trials, to acquiescence and peace. I saw this verse engraved, with great appropriateness, on a beautiful marble monument that had been erected over a grave where lay three children that had been suddenly cut down by the scarlet fever. What could be more suitable in such a trial than such a text? What could more strikingly express the true feelings of Christian piety - the calm submission of redeemed souls - than the disposition of parents, thus bereaved, to record such a sentiment over the grave of their children?


 
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