102:1 *[A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.] Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. / *In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
102:2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
102:3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
102:4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
102:5 In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones.
102:6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
102:7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.
102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
102:9 For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears
102:10 because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
102:11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
102:12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.
102:13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
102:14 For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.
102:15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
102:16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.
102:17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
102:18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
102:19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,
102:20 to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
102:21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem
102:22 when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord.
102:23 In the course of my life* he broke my strength; he cut short my days. / *Or By his power
102:24 So I said: “Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.
102:25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
102:26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
102:27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
102:28 The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”