“At the beginning You founded the earth;
The heavens are the work of Your hands.

Let this be recorded for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created will praise the Lord.

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!

“Even they will perish, but You endure;
Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them and they shall be changed.

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.

“But You remain the same,
And Your years will never end.

But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever [ruling eternally as sovereign];
And [the fame and glory of] Your name [endures] to all generations.

For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory and brilliance;

I said, “O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days;
Your years are [eternal] throughout all generations.

For He looked down from His holy height [of His sanctuary],
From heaven the Lord gazed on the earth,

He has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And has not despised their prayer.

I am like a [mournful] vulture of the wilderness;
I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.

For my days have vanished in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.

Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.

I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

So the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth [will recognize] Your glory.

My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];
And as for me, I wither away like grass.

“The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”

For Your servants find [melancholy] pleasure in the stones [of her ruins]
And feel pity for her dust.

To hear the sighing of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,

Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]
My bones cling to my flesh.

So that people may declare the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,

He has exhausted my strength [humbling me with sorrow] in the way;
He has shortened my days.

My heart has been struck like grass and withered,
Indeed, [absorbed by my heartache] I forget to eat my food.

My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.

Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.

When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears