¹ O that thou wouldest cleave the heaven in sunder, and come down: that the mountains might melt away at thy presence, ² like as at a hot fire; that the malicious might boil away, as the water doth upon the fire. Whereby thy name might be known among thine enemies, and that the Gentiles might tremble before thee. ³ When thou wroughtest wondrous strange works, we looked not for them: thou camest down and the hills melted at thy presence. ⁴ For since the beginning of the world there was none except thou, O God, that heard or perceived; neither hath any eye seen what thou doest, for them that put their trust in thee. ⁵ Thou helpest him that doth right with cheerfulness, and them that think upon thy ways. But lo, thou art angry: for we offend, and have been ever in sin, and there is not one whole. ⁶ We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, stained with the flux of a woman: we fall every and each one as the leaf, for our sins carry us away like the wind. ⁷ There is no man that calleth upon thy name, that standeth up to take hold by thee. Therefore hidest thou thy face from us and consumest us, because of our sins.

⁸ But now O LORD, thou father of ours: we are the clay, and thou art our potter, and we all are the work of thy hands. ⁹ Be not too sore displeased, O LORD, and keep not our offenses too long in thy remembrance: but consider that we all are thy people. ¹⁰ The cities of thy Sanctuary lie waste: Zion is a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desert. ¹¹ Our holy house which is our beauty, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up: yea, all our commodities and pleasures are wasted away. ¹² Wilt thou not be intreated, LORD, for all this? Wilt thou hold thy peace, and scourge us so sore?