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Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and [a]pours out his complaint before Yahweh.

102 (A)O Yahweh, hear my prayer!
And let my cry for help (B)come to You.
(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.
For my days (F)have [b]vanished in smoke,
And my (G)bones have been scorched like a hearth.
My heart (H)has been stricken like [c]grass and it has (I)dried up,
Indeed, I (J)forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning
My (K)bones [d]cling to my flesh.
I resemble a (L)pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
I (M)lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a roof.

My enemies (N)have reproached me all day long;
Those who [e](O)ridicule me (P)swear against me.
For I have eaten ashes like bread
And (Q)mixed my drinks 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 an (T)outstretched shadow,
And as for me, I (U)dry up like [f]grass.

12 But You, O Yahweh, [g](V)abide forever,
And the (W)remembrance of Your name [h]from generation to generation.
13 You will (X)arise and have (Y)compassion on Zion—
For (Z)it is time to be gracious to it,
For the (AA)appointed time has come.
14 For Your slaves [i]find pleasure in its stones
And show grace to its dust—
15 [j]So the [k](AB)nations will fear the name of Yahweh
And (AC)all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 For Yahweh has (AD)built up Zion;
He has (AE)appeared in His glory.
17 He has (AF)turned toward the prayer of the [l]destitute
And has not despised their prayer.

18 [m]This will be (AG)written for the (AH)generation to come,
And (AI)a people yet to be created will praise Yah.
19 For He (AJ)looked down from His holy height;
(AK)From heaven Yahweh gazed [n]upon the earth,
20 To hear the (AL)groaning of the prisoner,
To (AM)set free [o]those who were doomed to death,
21 To (AN)recount the name of Yahweh in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 When (AO)the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.

23 He has afflicted 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 [p]midst of my days,
Your (AR)years are from generation to all generations.
25 Of old You (AS)founded the earth,
And the (AT)heavens are the work of Your hands.
26 [q]Even they will (AU)perish, but You will remain;
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 [r](AV)the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 The (AW)children of Your slaves will dwell securely,
And their (AX)seed will be established before You.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102 Title Ps 142:2
  2. Psalm 102:3 Or finished
  3. Psalm 102:4 Lit vegetation
  4. Psalm 102:5 Lit have cleaved
  5. Psalm 102:8 Or made a fool of
  6. Psalm 102:11 Lit vegetation
  7. Psalm 102:12 Or sit enthroned
  8. Psalm 102:12 Lit to
  9. Psalm 102:14 Or have found
  10. Psalm 102:15 Or And
  11. Psalm 102:15 Or Gentiles
  12. Psalm 102:17 Or naked
  13. Psalm 102:18 Or Let this be written
  14. Psalm 102:19 Lit toward
  15. Psalm 102:20 Lit the sons of death
  16. Psalm 102:24 Lit half
  17. Psalm 102:26 Lit They themselves
  18. Psalm 102:27 Lit He

Psalm 102

The Afflicted Ruler

Heading
A prayer for an afflicted person who is weary and pours out his complaints before the Lord.

Opening Plea

O Lord, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me on the day when I am distressed.
Turn your ear to me on the day I call.
Hurry! Answer me!

The Shortness of His Days

For my days go up in smoke,
and my bones are burned like hot coals.
My heart is cut down and withered like grass,
so I forget to eat my food.
Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones stick out of my flesh.
I am like an owl in the wilderness,
like a screech owl[a] among the ruins.
I lie awake.
I have become like a lonely bird on a roof.
All day long my enemies taunt me.
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse,
because I eat ashes like bread,
and I mix tears with my drinks.
10 Because of your rage and your wrath,
    you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are being stretched out like a shadow,
and I am dried up like grass.

God’s Endless Years

12 But you, Lord, sit on your throne forever,
and you will be remembered through all generations.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion.
Yes, it is time to be gracious to her,
because the appointed time has come.
14 Yes, your servants will show favor to her stones,
and they will have compassion on her dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the naked.
He will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written till the last generation,
so that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.[b]
19 For the Lord looked down from his high, holy place.
From heaven he viewed the earth
20     to hear the groans of the prisoner,
    to release those condemned to death.
21 So the name of the Lord will be recorded in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms are gathered together
    to serve the Lord.

The Plea Repeated

23 He took away my strength during my lifetime.
He cut short my days.
24 I said, “My God, do not take me away in the middle of my days.”

The Eternal King

Your years go on through all generations.
25 Long ago you laid a foundation for the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain.
All of them wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them,
and they will be changed.
27 But you are the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will dwell with you,
and their descendants will be established before you.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 102:6 The exact identification of the birds is uncertain.
  2. Psalm 102:18 The short form of the divine name, Yah, is used here instead of the full form, Yahweh.