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

2 ^aDo not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily. ‡

3 For my days¹ are ^aconsumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth. ‡

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 my¹ skin. ‡

6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am 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 day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.

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 shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.

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

13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.

14 For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.

15 So the¹ nations shall ^afear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory. ‡

16 For the Lord shall build up Zion;
^aHe shall appear in His glory. ‡

17 ^aHe shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer. ‡

18 This will be ^awritten for the generation to come,
That ^ba people yet to be created may praise the Lord. ‡

19 For He ^alooked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth, ‡

20 ^aTo hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death, ‡

21 To ^adeclare the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem, ‡

22 ^aWhen the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. ‡

23 He weakened my strength in the way;
He ^ashortened my days. ‡