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Psalm 39:9
I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it.
7Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.
8Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish.
9I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it.
10Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
11When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah.
Notice
The closed mouth expresses submission to God's action, yet the next verse's plea for relief keeps that silence from sounding like an end to pain.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What response, if any, does “because you did it” draw from you today?
Write on thisHow does the plea for relief in verse 10 shape your reading of the silence in verse 9?
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Where else Scripture says this
11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Acts 8:32Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t …Both passages describe someone who does not open his mouth amid suffering; Acts uses the image of a silent lamb.
Ezekiel 16:63that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done,” says the …Both connect a closed mouth with God's action; Ezekiel names shame and forgiveness, while the psalm describes silence under God's hand.
Job 1:21He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the LORD’s name.”Both speakers acknowledge God's action in their distress; Job blesses the LORD, while the psalmist describes remaining silent.
Job 2:10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all …Both passages connect restraint in speech with acknowledging that hardship comes from God's hand.
Psalm 38:13But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth.Both psalms describe the speaker as mute and repeat the concrete detail of a mouth that does not open.
Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be …Aaron holds his peace after hearing the LORD's declaration; the psalmist keeps silent because he recognizes God's action.
1 Samuel 3:18Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”Both speakers accept the LORD's authority to act, one through silence and the other through words of assent.
Job 40:4“Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.Job lays his hand on his mouth before God; the psalmist describes keeping his mouth closed because God has acted.
2 Samuel 16:10The king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Because he curses, and because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, …Both link restraint in responding to hardship with the conviction that the LORD has acted.
Daniel 4:35All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and …The psalmist's silence before God's action shares Daniel's recognition that God's will stands beyond human control.
Isaiah 39:8Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The LORD’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”Both respond to what they recognize as coming from the LORD, though Hezekiah speaks approval and the psalmist remains silent.
Where this verse fits
Grief. illness or diagnosis. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Acknowledging God's hand does not require pretending pain has ended. The speaker remains overwhelmed, and his next words ask God for relief. His silence has not ended his prayer.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).