Psalm 102
Good News Translation
The Prayer of a Troubled Youth[a]
102 Listen to my prayer, O Lord,
and hear my cry for help!
2 When I am in trouble,
don't turn away from me!
Listen to me,
and answer me quickly when I call!
3 My life is disappearing like smoke;
my body is burning like fire.
4 I am beaten down like dry grass;
I have lost my desire for food.
5 I groan aloud;
I am nothing but skin and bones.
6 I am like a wild bird in the desert,
like an owl in abandoned ruins.
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 All day long my enemies insult me;
those who mock me use my name in cursing.
9-10 Because of your anger and fury,
ashes are my food,
and my tears are mixed with my drink.
You picked me up and threw me away.
11 My life is like the evening shadows;
I am like dry grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are king forever;
all generations will remember you.
13 You will rise and take pity on Zion;
the time has come to have mercy on her;
this is the right time.
14 Your servants love her,
even though she is destroyed;
they have pity on her,
even though she is in ruins.
15 The nations will fear the Lord;
all the kings of the earth will fear his power.
16 When the Lord rebuilds Zion,
he will reveal his greatness.
17 He will hear his forsaken people
and listen to their prayer.
18 Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done,
so that people not yet born will praise him.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place on high,
he looked down from heaven to earth.
20 He heard the groans of prisoners
and set free those who were condemned to die.
21 And so his name will be proclaimed in Zion,
and he will be praised in Jerusalem
22 when nations and kingdoms come together
and worship the Lord.
23 The Lord has made me weak while I am still young;
he has shortened my life.
24 O God, do not take me away now
before I grow old.
O Lord, you live forever;
25 (A)long ago you created the earth,
and with your own hands you made the heavens.
26 They will disappear, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like clothes.
You will discard them like clothes,
and they will vanish.
27 But you are always the same,
and your life never ends.
28 Our children will live in safety,
and under your protection
their descendants will be secure.
Footnotes
- Psalm 102:1 HEBREW TITLE: A prayer by a weary sufferer who pours out his complaints to the Lord.
Psalm 102
English Standard Version
Do Not Hide Your Face from Me
A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is (A)faint and (B)pours out his complaint before the Lord.
102 (C)Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry (D)come to you!
2 (E)Do not hide your face from me
in (F)the day of my distress!
(G)Incline your ear to me;
(H)answer me speedily (I)in the day when I call!
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.
Footnotes
- Psalm 102:6 The precise identity of these birds is uncertain
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
