102:1  HEAR MY prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You.

102:2  Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in distress! Incline Your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.

102:3  For my days consume away like smoke, and my bones burn like a firebrand {or} like a hearth.

102:4  My heart is smitten like grass and withered, so that [in absorption] I forget to eat my food.

102:5  By reason of my loud groaning [from suffering and trouble] my flesh cleaves to my bones.

102:6  I am like a melancholy pelican {or} vulture of the wilderness; I am like a [desolate] owl of the waste places.

102:7  I am sleepless {and} lie awake [mourning], like a bereaved sparrow alone on the housetop.

102:8  My adversaries taunt {and} reproach me all the day; and they who are angry with me use my name as a curse.

102:9  For I have eaten the ashes [in which I sat] as if they were bread and have mingled my drink with weeping

102:10  Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, for You have taken me up and cast me away.

102:11  My days are like an evening shadow that stretches out {and} declines [with the sun]; and I am withered like grass.

102:12  But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever; and the fame of Your name endures to all generations.

102:13  You will arise {and} have mercy {and} loving-kindness for Zion, for it is time to have pity {and} compassion for her; yes, the set time has come [the moment designated].

102:14  For Your servants take [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins] and show pity for her dust.

102:15  So the nations shall fear {and} worshipfully revere the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.

102:16  When the Lord builds up Zion, He will appear in His glory;

102:17  He will regard the plea of the destitute and will not despise their prayer.

102:18  Let this be recorded for the generation yet unborn, that a people yet to be created shall praise the Lord.

102:19  For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary, from heaven did the Lord behold the earth,

102:20  To hear the sighing {and} groaning of the prisoner, to loose those who are appointed to death,

102:21  So that men may declare the name of the Lord in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem

102:22  When peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to worship {and} serve the Lord.

102:23  He has afflicted {and} weakened my strength, humbling {and} bringing me low [with sorrow] in the way; He has shortened my days [aging me prematurely].

102:24  I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days, You Whose years continue throughout all generations.

102:25  At the beginning You existed {and} laid the foundations of the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands.

102:26  They shall perish, but You shall remain {and} endure; yes, all of them shall wear out {and} become old like a garment. Like clothing You shall change them, and they shall be changed {and} pass away.

102:27  But You remain the same, and Your years shall have no end.

102:28  The children of Your servants shall dwell safely {and} continue, and their descendants shall be established before You.