Psalm 102-104

English Standard Version

³ For my days ^(J)pass away like smoke,
    and my ^(K)bones burn like a furnace.
⁴ My heart is ^(L)struck down like grass and ^(M)has withered;
    I ^(N)forget to eat my bread.
⁵ Because of my loud groaning
    my ^(O)bones cling to my flesh.
⁶ I am like ^(P)a desert owl of the wilderness,
    like an owl^[a] of the waste places;
⁷ I ^(Q)lie awake;
    I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
⁸ All the day my enemies taunt me;
    those who ^(R)deride me ^(S)use my name for a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes like bread
    and ^(T)mingle tears with my drink,
¹⁰ because of your indignation and anger;
    for you have ^(U)taken me up and ^(V)thrown me down.
¹¹ My days are like ^(W)an evening shadow;
    I ^(X)wither away like grass.

¹² But you, O Lord, are ^(Y)enthroned forever;
    you ^(Z)are remembered throughout all generations.
¹³ You will ^(AA)arise and have ^(AB)pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    ^(AC)the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For your servants hold her ^(AD)stones dear
    and have pity on her dust.
¹⁵ Nations will ^(AE)fear the name of the Lord,
    and all ^(AF)the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
¹⁶ For the Lord ^(AG)builds up Zion;
    he ^(AH)appears in his glory;
¹⁷ he ^(AI)regards the prayer of the destitute
    and does not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ Let this be ^(AJ)recorded for ^(AK)a generation to come,
    so that ^(AL)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
¹⁹ that he ^(AM)looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
²⁰ to hear ^(AN)the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free ^(AO)those who were doomed to die,
²¹ that they may ^(AP)declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
    and in Jerusalem his praise,
²² when ^(AQ)peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse;
    he ^(AR)has shortened my days.
²⁴ “O my God,” ^(AS)I say, “take me not away
    in the midst of my days—
^(AT)you whose years endure
    throughout all generations!”

^25 (AU)Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and ^(AV)the heavens are the work of your hands.
^26 (AW)They will perish, but ^(AX)you will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
²⁷     but ^(AY)you are the same, and your years have no end.
^28 (AZ)The children of your servants ^(BA)shall dwell secure;
    ^(BB)their offspring shall be established before you.

⁶ The Lord works ^(BL)righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ^(BM)ways to Moses,
    his ^(BN)acts to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is ^(BO)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
^9 (BP)He will not always chide,
    nor will he ^(BQ)keep his anger forever.
¹⁰ He does not deal with us ^(BR)according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For ^(BS)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his ^(BT)steadfast love toward ^(BU)those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he ^(BV)remove our transgressions from us.
¹³ As ^(BW)a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion ^(BX)to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame;^[b]
    he ^(BY)remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like ^(BZ)grass;
    he flourishes like ^(CA)a flower of the field;
¹⁶ for ^(CB)the wind passes over it, and ^(CC)it is gone,
    and ^(CD)its place knows it no more.
¹⁷ But ^(CE)the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on ^(CF)those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to ^(CG)children's children,
¹⁸ to those who ^(CH)keep his covenant
    and ^(CI)remember to do his commandments.
¹⁹ The Lord has ^(CJ)established his throne in the heavens,
    and his ^(CK)kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Bless the Lord, O you ^(CL)his angels,
    you ^(CM)mighty ones who ^(CN)do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
²¹ Bless the Lord, all his ^(CO)hosts,
    his ^(CP)ministers, who do his will!
^22 (CQ)Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
^(CR)Bless the Lord, O my soul!

⁵ He ^(DE)set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
⁶ You ^(DF)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At ^(DG)your rebuke they fled;
    at ^(DH)the sound of your thunder they ^(DI)took to flight.
⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you ^(DJ)appointed for them.
⁹ You set ^(DK)a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they ^(DL)might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
¹¹ they ^(DM)give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
^13 (DN)From your lofty abode you ^(DO)water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴ You cause ^(DP)the grass to grow for the livestock
    and ^(DQ)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth ^(DR)food from the earth
¹⁵     and ^(DS)wine to gladden the heart of man,
^(DT)oil to make his face shine
    and bread to ^(DU)strengthen man's heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    ^(DV)the cedars of Lebanon ^(DW)that he planted.
¹⁷ In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸ The high mountains are for ^(DX)the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for ^(DY)the rock badgers.

¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the ^(DZ)seasons;^[c]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
^20 (EA)You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
^21 (EB)The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
²² When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their ^(EC)dens.
^23 (ED)Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

²⁴ O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In ^(EE)wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Here is the sea, great and wide,
    ^(EF)which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
²⁶ There go the ships,
    and ^(EG)Leviathan, which you formed to ^(EH)play in it.^[d]

²⁷ These ^(EI)all look to you,
    to ^(EJ)give them their food in due season.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you ^(EK)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹ When you ^(EL)hide your face, they are ^(EM)dismayed;
    when you ^(EN)take away their breath, they die
    and ^(EO)return to their dust.
³⁰ When you ^(EP)send forth your Spirit,^[e] they are created,
    and you ^(EQ)renew the face of the ground.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord ^(ER)endure forever;
    may the Lord ^(ES)rejoice in his works,
³² who looks on the earth and it ^(ET)trembles,
    who ^(EU)touches the mountains and they smoke!
³³ I will sing to the Lord ^(EV)as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴ May my ^(EW)meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ Let ^(EX)sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
^(EY)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
^(EZ)Praise the Lord!