Psalm
Select chapter 102

Psalm 102

Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.

A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.

1Hear 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 [b]consumed in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart has been smitten like [c]grass and has withered away,
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [d]loudness of my groaning
My bones [e]cling to my flesh.
6 I [f]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 [g]deride me [h]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 [i]lengthened shadow,
And [j]I wither away like [k]grass.

12 But You, O Lord, [l]abide forever,
And Your [m]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 [n]find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [o]So the [p]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 [q]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.

18 [r]This will be written for the generation to come,
[s]That a people yet to be created [t]may praise [u]the Lord.
19 For He looked down from His holy height;
From heaven the Lord gazed [v]upon the earth,
20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To set free [w]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 [x]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 “[y]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 [z]the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 “The children of Your servants will continue,
And their [aa]descendants will be established before You.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:1 Ps 142:2
  2. Psalm 102:3 Or finished
  3. Psalm 102:4 Lit herbage
  4. Psalm 102:5 Lit voice
  5. Psalm 102:5 Lit have cleaved
  6. Psalm 102:6 Lit have become similar to
  7. Psalm 102:8 Or made a fool of
  8. Psalm 102:8 Lit have sworn by me
  9. Psalm 102:11 Lit stretched out
  10. Psalm 102:11 Or as for me, I
  11. Psalm 102:11 Lit herbage
  12. Psalm 102:12 Or sit enthroned
  13. Psalm 102:12 Lit memorial
  14. Psalm 102:14 Or have found
  15. Psalm 102:15 Or And
  16. Psalm 102:15 Or Gentiles, heathen
  17. Psalm 102:17 Or naked
  18. Psalm 102:18 Or Let this be written
  19. Psalm 102:18 Or And
  20. Psalm 102:18 Or will
  21. Psalm 102:18 Heb Yah
  22. Psalm 102:19 Lit toward
  23. Psalm 102:20 Lit the sons of death
  24. Psalm 102:24 Lit half
  25. Psalm 102:26 Lit They themselves
  26. Psalm 102:27 Lit He
  27. Psalm 102:28 Lit seed
Psalm 102