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

A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD.

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 consumed in smoke,
          And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

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

5 Because 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 My enemies have reproached me all day long;
          Those who deride me 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 lengthened shadow,
          And I wither away like grass.

12 But You, O LORD, abide forever,
          And Your 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 find pleasure in her stones
          And feel pity for her dust.

15 So the 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 destitute
          And has not despised their prayer.

18 This will be written for the generation to come,
          That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

19 For He looked down from His holy height;
          From heaven the LORD gazed upon the earth,

20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
          To set free 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 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.”