New Revised Standard NRS
Common English Bible CEB
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you.
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LORD, hear my prayer! Let my cry reach you!
2 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.
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Don't hide your face from me in my time of trouble! Listen to me! Answer me quickly as I cry out!
3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
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Because my days disappear like smoke, my bones are burned up as if in an oven;
4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread.
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my heart is smashed like dried-up grass. I even forget to eat my food
5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin.
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because of my intense groans. My bones are protruding from my skin.
6 I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.
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I'm like some wild owl— like some screech owl in the desert.
7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
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I lie awake all night. I'm all alone like a bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
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All day long my enemies make fun of me; those who mock me curse using my name!
9 For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink,
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I've been eating ashes instead of bread. I've been mixing tears into my drinks
10 because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
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because of your anger and wrath, because you picked me up and threw me away.
11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
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My days are like a shadow soon gone. I'm dried up like dead grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.
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But you, LORD, rule forever! Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to favor it; the appointed time has come.
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You will stand up— you'll have compassion on Zion because it is time to have mercy on her— the time set for that has now come!
14 For your servants hold its stones dear, and have pity on its dust.
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Your servants cherish Zion's stones; they show mercy even to her dirt.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.
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The nations will honor the LORD's name; all the earth's rulers will honor your glory
16 For the Lord will build up Zion; he will appear in his glory.
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because the LORD will rebuild Zion; he will be seen there in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their prayer.
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God will turn to the prayer of the impoverished; he won't despise their prayers.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
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Let this be written down for the next generation so that people not yet created will praise the LORD:
19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
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The LORD looked down from his holy summit, surveyed the earth from heaven,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
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to hear the prisoners' groans, to set free those condemned to death,
21 so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
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that the LORD's name may be declared in Zion and his praise declared in Jerusalem,
22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
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when all people are gathered together— all kingdoms—to serve the LORD.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
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God broke my strength in midstride, cutting my days short.
24 "O my God," I say, "do not take me away at the midpoint of my life, you whose years endure throughout all generations."
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I said, "My God, don't take me away in the prime of life— your years go on from one generation to the next!
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
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You laid the earth's foundations long ago; the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
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These things will pass away, but you will last. All of these things will wear out like clothing; you change them like clothes, and they pass on.
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
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But you are the one! Your years never end!
28 The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your presence.
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Let your servants' children live safe; let your servants' descendants live secure in your presence."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible