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

2 D o not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

3 F or my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth.

4 M y heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread.

5 B ecause of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin.

6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.

7 I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.

8 M y enemies reproach me all day long; Those who deride me swear an oath against me.

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 shadow that lengthens, And I wither away like grass.

12 B ut You, O Lord, shall endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.

13 Y ou will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come.

14 F or Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust.

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

16 F or the Lord shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.

17 H e shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise 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 the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,

20 T o hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death,

21 T o declare 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 weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days.

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

25 O f old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 T hey will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.

27 B ut You are the same, And Your years will have no end.

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