1A prayer of the poor man when he is faint [with affliction], and pours out his tale of woe before the Lord.
2O Lord, hear my prayer, let my cry reach You!
3Hide not Your face from me on the day of my distress; turn Your ear to me; on the day that I call, answer me quickly.
4For my days have vanished with the smoke; my bones are dried up as a hearth.
5Smitten like grass and withered is my heart, for I have forgotten to eat my bread.
6From the voice of my sigh, my bone cleaves to my flesh.
7I am like the bird of the wilderness; like the owl of the wasteland have I become.
8In haste I fled; I was like a bird, alone on a roof.
9All day my enemies disgrace me; those who ridicule me curse using my name.1
10For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,
11because of Your anger and Your wrath-for You have raised me up, then cast me down.
12My days are like the fleeting shadow; I wither away like the grass.
13But You, Lord, will be enthroned forever, and Your remembrance is for all generations.
14You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her; the appointed time has come.
15For Your servants cherish her stones, and love her dust.
16Then the nations will fear the Name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory,
17when [they see that] the Lord has built Zion, He has appeared in His glory.
18He turned to the entreaty of the prayerful, and did not despise their prayer.
19Let this be written for the last generation, so that the newborn nation will praise the Lord.
20For He looked down from His holy heights; from heaven, the Lord gazed upon the earth,
21to hear the cry of the bound, to untie those who are doomed to die,
22so that the Name of the Lord be declared in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem,
23when nations and kingdoms will gather together to serve the Lord.
24He weakened my strength on the way; He shortened my days.
25I would say: "My God, do not remove me in the midst of my days! You Whose years endure through all generations.”
26In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
27They will perish, but You will endure; all of them will wear out like a garment; You will exchange them like a robe, and they will vanish.
28But You remain the same; Your years will not end.
29The children of Your servants will abide; their seed shall be established before You.