Psalm 102
New American Standard Bible 1995
Prayer of an Afflicted Man for Mercy on Himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (A)Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
2 (C)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
(D)Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call (E)answer me quickly.
3 For my days (F)have been [b]consumed in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart (H)has been smitten like [c]grass and has (I)withered away,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the [d]loudness of my groaning
My (K)bones [e]cling to my flesh.
6 I [f]resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
7 I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies (N)have reproached me all day long;
Those who [g](O)deride me [h]have used my name as a (P)curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread
And (Q)mingled my drink with weeping
10 (R)Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have (S)lifted me up and cast me away.
11 My days are like a [i](T)lengthened shadow,
And [j]I (U)wither away like [k]grass.
12 But You, O Lord, [l](V)abide forever,
And Your [m](W)name to all generations.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion;
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to her,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants [n]find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
15 [o]So the [p](AB)nations will fear the name of the Lord
And (AC)all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For the Lord has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)regarded the prayer of the [q]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.
18 [r]This will be (AG)written for the (AH)generation to come,
[s]That (AI)a people yet to be created [t]may praise [u]the Lord.
19 For He (AJ)looked down from His holy height;
(AK)From heaven the Lord gazed [v]upon the earth,
20 To hear the (AL)groaning of the prisoner,
To (AM)set free [w]those who were doomed to death,
21 That men may (AN)tell of the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When (AO)the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
23 He has weakened my strength in the way;
He has (AP)shortened my days.
24 I say, “O my God, (AQ)do not take me away in the [x]midst of my days,
Your (AR)years are throughout all generations.
25 “Of old You (AS)founded the earth,
And the (AT)heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 “[y]Even they will (AU)perish, but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
27 “But You are [z](AV)the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 “The (AW)children of Your servants will continue,
And their [aa](AX)descendants will be established before You.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 102:1 Ps 142:2
- Psalm 102:3 Or finished
- Psalm 102:4 Lit herbage
- Psalm 102:5 Lit voice
- Psalm 102:5 Lit have cleaved
- Psalm 102:6 Lit have become similar to
- Psalm 102:8 Or made a fool of
- Psalm 102:8 Lit have sworn by me
- Psalm 102:11 Lit stretched out
- Psalm 102:11 Or as for me, I
- Psalm 102:11 Lit herbage
- Psalm 102:12 Or sit enthroned
- Psalm 102:12 Lit memorial
- Psalm 102:14 Or have found
- Psalm 102:15 Or And
- Psalm 102:15 Or Gentiles, heathen
- Psalm 102:17 Or naked
- Psalm 102:18 Or Let this be written
- Psalm 102:18 Or And
- Psalm 102:18 Or will
- Psalm 102:18 Heb Yah
- Psalm 102:19 Lit toward
- Psalm 102:20 Lit the sons of death
- Psalm 102:24 Lit half
- Psalm 102:26 Lit They themselves
- Psalm 102:27 Lit He
- Psalm 102:28 Lit seed
Psalm 102
Easy-to-Read Version
A prayer for a time of suffering, when anyone feels weak and wants to tell their complaints to the Lord.
102 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for help.
2 Don’t turn away from me when I have troubles.
Listen to me, and answer me quickly when I cry for help.
3 My life is passing away like smoke.
My life is like a fire slowly burning out.
4 My strength is gone—
I am like dry, dying grass.
I even forget to eat.
5 Because of my sadness, I am losing so much weight
that my skin hangs from my bones.
6 I am lonely, like an owl living in the desert,
like an owl living among old ruined buildings.
7 I cannot sleep.
I am like a lonely bird on the roof.
8 My enemies insult me all the time.
They make fun of me and use me as an example in their curses.
9 My great sadness is my only food.
My tears fall into my drink.
10 You were angry with me,
so you picked me up and threw me away.
11 My life is almost finished, like the long shadows at the end of the day.
I am like dry and dying grass.
12 But you, Lord, will rule as king forever!
Your name will continue forever and ever!
13 You will rise up and comfort Zion.
The time has come for you to be kind to Zion.
14 Your servants love her stones.
They love even the dust of that city!
15 The nations will worship the Lord’s name.
All the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Zion,
and people will again see her glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of those in poverty.
He will not ignore them.
18 Write these things for future generations,
so that they will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord will look down from his Holy Place above.
He will look down at the earth from heaven.
20 And he will hear the prisoner’s prayers.
He will free those who were condemned to die.
21 Then people in Zion will tell about the Lord.
They will praise his name in Jerusalem
22 when nations gather together
and kingdoms come to serve the Lord.
23 My strength failed me.
My life is cut short.
24 So I said, “Don’t let me die while I am still young.
God, you will live forever and ever!
25 Long ago, you made the world.
You made the sky with your own hands!
26 The earth and sky will end,
but you will live forever!
They will wear out like clothes,
and like clothes, you will change them.
27 But you never change.
You will live forever!
28 We are your servants today.
Our children will live here,
and their descendants will come here to worship you.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International