³ For my days come and go, vanishing like smoke,
    and my bones are charred like bricks of a hearth.
⁴ My heart is beaten down like grass withered and scorched in the summer heat;
    I can’t even remember to eat.
⁵ My body is shaken by my groans;
    my bones cling to my skin, holding on for dear life.
⁶ I am like a solitary owl in the wilderness;
    I am a lost and lonely screech owl at home in the rubble.
⁷ I stare at the ceiling, awake in my bed;
    I am alone, a defenseless sparrow perched on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies chide me;
    those who mock me spit out my name as a curse.
⁹ For ashes have become my bread;
    my tears fall into my drink
¹⁰ Because of the depth of Your wrath.
    You have brought me up
    and then hurled me aside.
¹¹ My days go by like a long shadow—stretched thin and disappearing—
    I shrivel up like grass baked in the hot sun.

¹² But You, O Eternal One, remain forever,
    and Your name endures to all generations.
¹³ You will rise up once again and remember Your love for Zion;
    it is time to have mercy on Your city;
    yes, it is the divinely appointed time.
¹⁴ Your faithful servants take pleasure in her every stone;
    they even delight in the dust of her streets.
¹⁵ Days are coming when nations will tremble at the name of the Eternal;
    all the rulers of the earth will bow down to Your glory.
¹⁶ For He will return to rebuild His city, Zion;
    He will be seen in His splendor.
¹⁷ He will listen to the prayer of the impoverished
    and welcome their prayers.

¹⁸ Let this record be kept for posterity
    so that people not yet born may praise the Eternal.
¹⁹ Tell them that He looked down from holy heights, His heavenly sanctuary;
    the Eternal looked down from heaven and closely watched the earth,
²⁰ Hearing the prisoners’ groans—
    releasing those awaiting execution—
²¹ That the name of the Eternal would resound in Zion,
    and His praise would be proclaimed in Jerusalem
²² When the peoples gather
    and the nations’ leaders assemble to worship the Eternal.

²³ Along my way He has sapped my strength;
    He has shortened my days here on earth.
²⁴ I said, “O my True God, don’t take me away
    in the middle of my life;
Unlike me, Your years continually unfold
    throughout all generations.”

²⁵ In the beginning, You laid the foundation of the earth
    and set the skies above us with Your own hands.
²⁶ But while they will someday pass away, You remain forever;
    when they wear out like old clothes,
You will roll them up and change them into something new, and they will pass away.
²⁷ But You are the same, You will never change;
    Your years will never come to an end.^[a]
28 The children of those who serve You will enjoy a good, long life;
    their offspring will stand strong before You.