New Living Translation NLT
English Standard Version ESV
1 LORD, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!
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Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!
2 Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.
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Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals.
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For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite.
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My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.
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Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like an owl in the desert, like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.
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I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake, lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.
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I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 My enemies taunt me day after day. They mock and curse me.
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All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 I eat ashes for food. My tears run down into my drink
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For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your anger and wrath. For you have picked me up and thrown me out.
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because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass.
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My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O LORD, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.
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But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem — and now is the time to pity her, now is the time you promised to help.
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You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
14 For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.
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For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.
15 Then the nations will tremble before the LORD . The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.
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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 Jerusalem. He will appear in his glory.
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For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;
17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.
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he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the LORD .
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Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 Tell them the LORD looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heaven
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that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die.
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to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 And so the LORD ’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem,
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that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when multitudes gather together and kingdoms come to worship the LORD .
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when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He broke my strength in midlife, cutting short my days.
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He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
24 But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever, don’t take my life while I am so young!
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“O my God, ” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations! ”
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.
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Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them.
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They will perish, but 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 you are always the same; you will live forever.
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but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”
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The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025