Psalm 102 - Modern English Version

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord .

¹ Hear my prayer, O  Lord, and let my cry come to You.

² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.

³ For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.

⁴ My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.

⁵ Because of the sound of my groaning my bones cling to my skin.

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

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

⁸ My enemies reproach me all the day; those who deride me use my name for a curse.

⁹ For I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drink with tears,

¹⁰ because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have lifted me up and cast me away.

¹¹ My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

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

¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to favor her; the appointed time has come.

¹⁴ For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and take pity on 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 will build up Zion; He will appear in His glory.

¹⁷ He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for the generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.

¹⁹ For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven the Lord beheld the earth,

²⁰ to hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those who were appointed to die,

²¹ to declare 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 midcourse; He has shortened my days.

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

²⁵ Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

²⁶ They will perish, but You will endure; indeed, they will all wear out like a garment; like a robe You will change them, and they will pass away.

²⁷ But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.

²⁸ The children of Your servants shall continue; and their descendants shall be established before You.