Chronological
A Plea for Personal and National Help
A prayer of one afflicted, when he grows faint
and pours out his lament before Yahweh.[a]
102 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my trouble.
Incline your ear to me.
In the day I call, answer me quickly,
3 for my days vanish in smoke,
and my bones are charred like a hearth.
4 My heart is struck like grass and withers.
Indeed, I forget to eat[b] my bread.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning
my bones[c] cling to my skin.[d]
6 I am like an owl[e] of the wilderness;
I am like a little owl of the ruins.
7 I lie awake and I am
like a lone bird on a roof.
8 All the day my enemies reproach me;
those who mock me swear oaths against me.
9 Indeed, I eat ashes like bread
and mix my drink with tears[f]
10 because of your indignation and anger,
for you have picked me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,
and I wither like grass.
12 But you, O Yahweh, abide[g] forever,
and your remembrance[h] from generation to generation.[i]
13 You rise up and take pity on Zion,
because it is time to favor it,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and show favor to its dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of Yahweh,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For Yahweh will rebuild Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written for the next generation,
so that a people yet to be created may praise Yah,[j]
19 that he looked down from his holy height.
Yahweh looked from heaven over the earth
20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to liberate those destined to die,[k]
21 so that they[l] may make known in Zion the name of Yahweh,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples assemble,
together with[m] kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
23 He has broken my strength along the way;
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “My God, do not carry me off
from my life in the middle of my days.”
Your years continue throughout all generations.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure.
And like a garment they will all wear out,
you will replace them like clothing, and they will be set aside.
27 But you are the same,
and your years do not end.
28 The children of your servants will continue,
and their descendants[n] will be established before you.
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Compassion
Of David.[o]
103 Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
and all within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits:
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with loyal love and mercies,
5 who satisfies your life with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 Yahweh does deeds of justice
and judgments for all who are oppressed,
7 who made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people[p] of Israel.
8 Yahweh is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger[q] and abundant in loyal love.
9 He does not dispute continually,
nor keep his anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so his loyal love prevails over those who fear him.
12 As far as east is from west,
so he has removed far from us the guilt of our transgressions.
13 As a father pities[r] his children,
so Yahweh pities[s] those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame.[t]
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like the grass.
As the flower of the field, so he blossoms.
16 When the wind passes over it, it is no more,
and its place knows it no longer.
17 But the loyal love of Yahweh
is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to their children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his precepts.
19 Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless Yahweh, you his angels,
you mighty heroes who do his word
by obeying[u] the sound of his word.
21 Bless Yahweh, all you his hosts,
you his attendants who do his will.
22 Bless Yahweh, all his works,[v]
in all the places of his dominion.
Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
Praise to Yahweh for His Creation and Providence
104 Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
O Yahweh my God, you are very great.
You clothe yourself with splendor and majesty,
2 you who cover yourself with light as with a garment,
who stretch out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 the one who sets beams in the waters for his upper chambers,
who makes clouds his chariot,
who rides[w] on the wings of the wind,
4 who makes his messengers the winds,
his attendants a flame of fire.
5 He established the earth on her foundations,
so that it will not be moved forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment.
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they ran off.
8 They ascended the mountains and drained though the valleys
to the place that you established[x] for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not cross over,
so that they would not return to cover the earth.
10 You are the one who sends forth springs into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They give drink for every beast of the field.
The wild donkeys quench[y] their thirst.
12 Along them the birds of the heavens abide.
From among the branches they sing.[z]
13 You are the one who waters[aa] the mountains
from his upper chambers.
The earth is full[ab] with the fruit of your labors:
14 who causes grass to grow for the cattle
and herbs for the service of humankind,
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
so that their faces shine from oil,
and bread that strengthens the heart of man.
16 The trees of Yahweh drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where birds make their nest.
The stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon for appointed times;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when[ac] all the animals of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions are roaring for the prey
and seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together
and lie down in their dens.
23 Humankind goes out to its work,
and to its labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, O Yahweh;
all of them you have done in wisdom.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 This is the great and wide[ad] sea,
in which are moving animals without number,
living things small and great.
26 There the ships sail.
Leviathan is there that you formed to play with.[ae]
27 They all wait for you
to give them their food at the proper time.[af]
28 You give to them; they gather it.
You open your hand, they are filled with what is good.
29 You hide your face, they are terrified.
You take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit,[ag] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of Yahweh endure forever.
May Yahweh be glad in his works,
32 the one who looks at the earth and it quakes,
and touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh throughout my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I remain alive.[ah]
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him.
I will be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners perish completely from the earth,
and the wicked not remain alive.[ai]
Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
Praise Yah.[aj]
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