^1. HEAR my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You.

^2. Do 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. For my days have been [1] consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

^4. My heart has been smitten like [2] grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.

^5. Because of the [4] loudness of my groaning My bones [3] cling to my flesh.

^6. I [5] 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. My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who [7] deride me [6] have used my name as a curse.

^9. For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping

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

^11. My days are like a [10] lengthened shadow, And [9] I wither away like [8] grass.

^12. But You, O LORD, [12] abide forever, And Your [11] name to all generations.

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

^14. Surely Your servants [13] find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust.

^15. [15] So the [14] nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

^16. For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.

^17. He has regarded the prayer of the [16] destitute And has not despised their prayer.

^18. [20] This will be written for the generation to come, [19] That a people yet to be created [18] may praise [17] the LORD.

^19. For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the LORD gazed [21] upon the earth,

^20. To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To set free [22] those who were doomed to death,

^21. That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem,

^22. When the peoples are gathered together, And the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

^23. He 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 [23] 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. « [24] 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 [25] the same, And Your years will not come to an end.

^28. «The children of Your servants will continue, And their [26] descendants will be established before You.»