1 H ear my prayer, O Lord! And let my cry for help come to You.

2 D o not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly.

3 F or my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

4 M y heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.

5 B ecause of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh.

6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places.

7 I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

8 M y enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.

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

10 B ecause of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away.

11 M y days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass.

12 B ut You, O Lord, abide forever, And Your name to all generations.

13 Y ou will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come.

14 S urely Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust.

15 S o the nations will fear the name of the Lord And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

16 F or the Lord has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.

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

18 T his will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.

19 F or He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the Lord gazed upon the earth,

20 T o hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free those who were doomed to death,

21 T hat men may tell of the name of the Lord in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem,

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

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

24 I say, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, Your years are throughout all generations.

25 “ Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 “ Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.

27 “ But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.

28 “ The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You.”