Psalmen 102
Het Boek
102 Deze psalm is het gebed van iemand die in diepe ellende zit, geen raad meer weet en zijn hart uitstort bij de Here.
2 Here, luister toch naar mijn gebed,
ik bid dat mijn hulpgeroep U bereikt.
3 Verberg U niet voor mij,
nu het mij allemaal te veel wordt,
luister toch naar mij.
Antwoord mij toch snel, nu ik U roep.
4 Want ik word zo snel oud
en mijn botten doen zeer, zij gloeien.
5 Mijn hart is dor als dood gras
en alle eetlust is verdwenen.
6 Door al mijn verdriet
voel ik mij lichamelijk een wrak.
7 Ik voel mij als een pelikaan in de woestijn, hulpeloos.
Alsof ik een steenuil ben die in de ruïnes zit.
8 Ik kan niet slapen en lijk op een vogel, alleen op een dak.
9 Mijn tegenstanders bespotten mij voortdurend.
Mijn naam geldt als een vloek
voor wie mijn bloed wel kunnen drinken.
10 Ik eet as in plaats van brood
en mijn tranen mengen zich met het water dat ik drink.
11 Dat komt allemaal doordat U
uw toorn en ergernis over mij hebt uitgegoten,
eerst nam U mij op
en toen gooide U mij weer neer.
12 Mijn dagen zijn stil en duister
en ik verga.
13 Here, U heerst echter tot in eeuwigheid.
Uw naam zal nooit worden uitgewist en blijft altijd bestaan.
14 Eens zult U Zich over Jeruzalem komen ontfermen.
De tijd is aangebroken om uw stad genade te geven.
15 Uw dienaren houden van deze stad
en hebben medelijden met de puinhopen die er liggen.
16 Dan zullen alle volken ter wereld
eerbied en ontzag hebben voor de naam van de Here.
Alle heersers
zullen uw grootheid erkennen.
17 Dan zal de Here Jeruzalem herbouwen
en er met zijn grootheid en macht gaan wonen.
18 Dan zal Hij de gebeden van de armen aanhoren
en Zich tot hen overbuigen.
19 Laten we dit opschrijven voor de komende generaties.
Het volk dat dan leeft, zal de Here prijzen.
20 Want de Here heeft hoog vanuit zijn heilige hemel
neergezien op de aarde.
21 Hij hoorde het klagen en huilen van de gevangenen
en bevrijdde hen die ten dode waren opgeschreven.
22 Daarom zal men in Jeruzalem over de Here vertellen
en zijn naam groot maken.
23 Dan zullen alle volken en koninkrijken bij elkaar komen
en de Here dienen.
24 Halverwege mijn leven heeft Hij mijn kracht afgenomen.
Ik leef nog maar kort.
25 Ik zeg tegen Hem:
mijn God, laat mij nog niet sterven,
ik ben nog veel te jong.
Maar U bestaat al eeuwen.
26 In het begin hebt U de aarde gemaakt
en ook de hemel was uw werk.
27 Dit alles zal eenmaal verdwijnen,
maar U blijft altijd aanwezig.
Alles slijt weg als oude kleren,
28 maar U blijft dezelfde.
Aan uw bestaan komt geen einde.
29 De nakomelingen van uw dienaren kunnen veilig leven.
Het volk dat uit hen voortkomt,
zal altijd veilig onder uw hoede blijven.
Psalm 102
New English Translation
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Footnotes
- Psalm 102:1 sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.
- Psalm 102:1 tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”
- Psalm 102:2 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).
- Psalm 102:2 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
- Psalm 102:3 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
- Psalm 102:3 tn The Hebrew noun קֵד (qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
- Psalm 102:4 tn Heb “struck, attacked.”
- Psalm 102:4 tn Heb “I forget.”
- Psalm 102:4 sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.
- Psalm 102:5 tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated—he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.
- Psalm 102:6 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qaʾat) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).
- Psalm 102:6 tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).
- Psalm 102:6 sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.
- Psalm 102:7 tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the Lord (see vv. 1-2).
- Psalm 102:8 tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.
- Psalm 102:9 sn Mourners would sometimes put ashes on their head or roll in ashes as a sign of mourning (see 2 Sam 13:19; Job 2:8; Isa 58:5).
- Psalm 102:9 tn Heb “weeping.”
- Psalm 102:10 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 102:11 tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.
- Psalm 102:12 tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.
- Psalm 102:12 tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”
- Psalm 102:13 tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
- Psalm 102:14 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 102:14 tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
- Psalm 102:14 tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
- Psalm 102:15 tn Heb “will fear the name of the Lord.” To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).
- Psalm 102:15 tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
- Psalm 102:17 tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (ʿarar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
- Psalm 102:17 tn Heb “despise.”
- Psalm 102:17 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
- Psalm 102:18 tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Psalm 102:18 tn Or “created.”
- Psalm 102:19 tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”
- Psalm 102:19 tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.
- Psalm 102:20 tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
- Psalm 102:21 tn Heb “his praise.”
- Psalm 102:22 tn “and the kingdoms to serve the Lord.”
- Psalm 102:23 tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).
- Psalm 102:24 tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”
- Psalm 102:24 tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”
- Psalm 102:26 tn Heb “stand.”
- Psalm 102:26 tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.
- Psalm 102:27 tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the Lord’s affirmation “I am he” in Isa 41:4; 43:10, 13; 46:10; 48:12. In each of these passages the affirmation emphasizes the fact that the Lord transcends time limitations, the very point being made in Ps 102:27.
- Psalm 102:28 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
- Psalm 102:28 tn Heb “before you will be established.”
Psalm 102
Jubilee Bible 2000
A Prayer of the poor in spirit, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the LORD.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as in a hearth.
4 My heart is smitten and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 My enemies reproach me all the day, and those that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping,
10 because of thine indignation and thy wrath; for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declines, and I am withered like grass.
12 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance unto all generations.
13 Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, the set time, is come.
14 For thy slaves love her stones and have compassion on the dust thereof.
15 So the Gentiles shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory
16 because the LORD shall have built up Zion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
17 He shall have regarded the prayer of those who are alone and destitute and not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come, and the people who shall be created shall praise JAH.
19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from the heavens the LORD beheld the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death,
21 that they might declare the name of the LORD in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the people are gathered together as one and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 ¶ He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, do not cut me off in the midst of my days; thy years are from generation to generation.
25 Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
28 The sons of thy slaves shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
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