¹⁶ O Lord, in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a prayer^[a]
    when your chastening was on them.^(A)

³ For my days pass away like smoke,
    and my bones burn like a furnace.^(C)
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
    I am too wasted to eat my bread.^(D)
5 Because of my loud groaning,
    my bones cling to my skin.^(E)
6 I am like a desert owl^[a] of the wilderness,
    like a little owl of the waste places.^(F)
7 I lie awake;
    I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.^(G)
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
    those who deride me use my name for a curse.^(H)
9 Indeed, I eat ashes like bread
    and mingle tears with my drink,^(I)
10 because of your indignation and anger,
    for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like a lengthening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.^(J)

¹² But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
    your name endures to all generations.^(K)
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to favor it;
    the appointed time has come.^(L)
14 For your servants hold its stones dear
    and have pity on its dust.
¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the Lord
    and all the kings of the earth your glory.^(M)
16 For the Lord will build up Zion;
    he will appear in his glory.^(N)
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute
    and will not despise their prayer.^(O)

¹⁸ Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:^(P)
19 that he looked down from his holy height,
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,^(Q)
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die,^(R)
21 so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem,^(S)
22 when peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to serve the Lord.^(T)

²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse;
    he has shortened my days.^(U)
24 “O my God,” I say, “do not take me away
    at the midpoint of my life,
you whose years endure
    throughout all generations.”^(V)

²⁵ Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.^(W)
26 They will perish, but you endure;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away,^(X)
27     but you are the same, and your years have no end.^(Y)
28 The children of your servants shall live secure;
    their offspring shall be established in your presence.^(Z)