1 H ear my prayer, O Jehovah, And let my cry come unto thee.

2 H ide not thy face from me in the day of my distress: Incline thine ear unto me; In the day when I call answer me speedily.

3 F or my days consume away like smoke, And my bones are burned as a firebrand.

4 M y heart is smitten like grass, and withered; For I forget to eat my bread.

5 B y reason of the voice of my groaning My bones cleave to my flesh.

6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places.

7 I watch, and am become like a sparrow That is alone upon the house-top.

8 M ine enemies reproach me all the day; They that are mad against me do curse by me.

9 F or I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping,

10 B ecause of thine indignation and thy wrath: For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.

11 M y days are like a shadow that declineth; And I am withered like grass.

12 B ut thou, O Jehovah, wilt abide for ever; And thy memorial name unto all generations.

13 T hou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come.

14 F or thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity upon her dust.

15 S o the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.

16 F or Jehovah hath built up Zion; He hath appeared in his glory.

17 H e hath regarded the prayer of the destitute, And hath not despised their prayer.

18 T his shall be written for the generation to come; And a people which shall be created shall praise Jehovah.

19 F or he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;

20 T o hear the sighing of the prisoner; To loose those that are appointed to death;

21 T hat men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem;

22 W hen the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.

23 H e weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days.

24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations.

25 O f old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands.

26 T hey shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

27 B ut thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.

28 T he children of thy servants shall continue, And their seed shall be established before thee.