1HEAR my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me
in my day of trouble.
Turn Your ear to me;
answer me quickly when I call.
3 For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
5 Because of my constant groaning
I am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like an owl of the wilderness,
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lone bird on a roof.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long;
those who deride me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes like bread,
and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of Your indignation and wrath,
for You have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a shadow in the late afternoon;
I wither away like grass.
12 But You, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;
Your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion;
for it is time to show favour to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For Your servants hold her stones dear;
her dust moves them to pity.
15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth will revere Your glory.
16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion;
He will appear in His glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written for a generation to come,
that a people not yet created
may praise the LORD.
19 He looks down from His holy heights—
from heaven the LORD gazes at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
and release those condemned to death;
21 so that the name of the LORD
might be declared in Zion,
and His praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples assemble together,
and the kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
23 He has broken my strength
along the pathway of life,
He has shortened my days.
24 So I said: “O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years continue through all generations.
25 Long ago You laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 They will perish, but You will endure;
yes, they will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them,
and they will pass away.
27 But You remain the same,
and Your years have no end.
28 The children of Your servants will continue,
and their offspring will be established before You.”