Psalm 102
Expanded Bible
A Cry for Help
A prayer of a person who is suffering when he is ·discouraged [faint; disturbed] and ·tells the Lord his complaints [L pours out his concerns before the Lord].
102 Lord, listen to my prayer;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your ·presence [L face] from me
in my time of ·trouble [distress].
·Pay attention [L Extend your ear] to me.
·When I cry for help [L On the day I call], answer me quickly.
3 My ·life [L days] is ·passing away [vanishing] like smoke,
and my bones are burned up ·with fire [L like a furnace/oven/or glowing embers].
4 My heart is like grass
that has been ·cut [stricken] and dried.
I forget to eat my ·food [or bread].
5 Because of ·my grief [L the sounds of my groans],
my ·skin hangs on my bones [L bones cling to my flesh].
6 I am like a ·desert [wilderness] owl,
like an owl living among the ·ruins [wastelands; Is. 34:10–15; Zeph. 2:13–15].
7 I ·lie awake [or keep watch].
I am like a lonely bird on a ·housetop [roof].
8 All day long enemies ·insult [scorn; reproach] me;
those who ·make fun of [mock] me use my name as a curse.
9 I eat ashes for ·food [or bread],
and my tears ·fall into [mingle with] my drinks.
10 Because of your ·great anger [L wrath and indignation],
you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a passing shadow;
I am like dried grass.
12 But, Lord, you ·rule [L are enthroned] forever,
and your ·fame [memory] ·goes on and on [L throughout the generations].
13 You will ·come [L rise up] and have ·mercy [compassion] on ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
because the time has now come to be ·kind [gracious] to her;
the ·right [appointed] time has come.
14 Your servants ·love even [are pleased/delighted with] her stones;
they even ·care about [L have pity/compassion for] her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings on earth ·will honor you [L your glory; C God’s manifest presence].
16 The Lord will rebuild ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
there his glory [C manifest presence] will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the ·needy [lowly; L naked];
he will not ·reject [despise] their prayers.
18 Write these things for ·the future [L a future generation]
so that people who are not yet ·born [created] will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above;
from heaven he ·looked [gazed] down at the earth.
20 He heard the ·moans [groans] of the prisoners,
and he ·freed [released] those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be ·heard [recounted] in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
his praise ·will be heard there [L in Jerusalem].
22 People will ·come [gather] together,
and kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 ·God has made me tired of living [He broke my strength in midcourse/L the way];
he has cut short my ·life [L days].
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my ·life [L days].
Your years ·go on and on [endure for generations].
25 In the beginning you ·made [founded] the earth,
and ·your hands made the skies [L the heavens are the work of your hands; Gen. 1].
26 They will be destroyed, but you will ·remain [endure].
They will all wear out like ·clothes [garments].
And, like clothes, you will change them
and throw them away.
27 But you ·never change [are the same/L he],
and your ·life [L years] will never end.
28 ·Our children [L The children of your servants] will live in your presence,
and their ·children [offspring; L seed] will remain with you.”
Psalm 102
Revised Geneva Translation
102 O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me in the time of my trouble. Incline Your ears to me when I call. Hurry to hear me.
3 For my days are consumed like smoke; and my bones are burnt like a hearth.
4 My heart is stricken and withered, like grass, because I forgot to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning, my bones cling to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I am like an owl of the deserts.
7 I watch and am as a sparrow, alone upon the house top.
8 My enemies revile me daily. Those who rage against me have sworn against me.
9 Surely, I have eaten ashes as bread and mingled my drink with weeping
10 because of Your indignation and Your wrath. For You have heaved me up and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that fades; and I am withered like grass.
12 But You, O LORD, remain forever, and Your remembrance from generation to generation.
13 You will arise and have mercy upon Zion. For the time to have mercy thereon, for the appointed time, has come.
14 For Your servants, delight in the stones thereof and have pity on the dust thereof.
15 Then the heathen shall fear the Name of the LORD, and all the kings of the Earth Your Glory,
16 when the LORD shall build up Zion and shall appear in His Glory
17 and shall turn to the prayer of the desolate and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people who shall be created shall praise the LORD.
19 For He has looked down from the height of His Sanctuary. Out of the heaven did the LORD behold the Earth,
20 so that He might hear the mourning of the prisoner and deliver the children of death;
21 so that they may declare the Name of the LORD in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem
22 when the people shall be gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
23 He weakened my strength on the way and shortened my days.
24 I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days. Your years endure from generation to generation.
25 “Before time, You have laid the foundation of the Earth; and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 “They shall perish, but You shall endure. Indeed, they shall all wear out like a garment. You shall change them like clothing, and they shall be changed.
27 But You are the same; and Your years shall not fail.
28 The children of Your servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established in Your sight. A Psalm of David
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