Read the Bible

^1 (c)Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry ^(d)come to you!
^2 (e)Do not hide your face from me
    in ^(f)the day of my distress!
^(g)Incline your ear to me;
    ^(h)answer me speedily ⁽ⁱ⁾in the day when I call!

³ For my days ^(j)pass away like smoke,
    and my ^(k)bones burn like a furnace.
⁴ My heart is ^(l)struck down like grass and ^(m)has withered;
    I ⁽ⁿ⁾forget to eat my bread.
⁵ Because of my loud groaning
    my ^(o)bones cling to my flesh.
⁶ I am like ^(p)a desert owl of the wilderness,
    like an owl^[a] of the waste places;
⁷ I ^(q)lie awake;
    I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
⁸ All the day my enemies taunt me;
    those who ^(r)deride me ^(s)use my name for a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes like bread
    and ^(t)mingle tears with my drink,
¹⁰ because of your indignation and anger;
    for you have ^(u)taken me up and ^(v)thrown me down.
¹¹ My days are like ^(w)an evening shadow;
    I ^(x)wither away like grass.

¹² But you, O Lord, are ^(y)enthroned forever;
    you ^(z)are remembered throughout all generations.
¹³ You will ^(aa)arise and have ^(ab)pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    ^(ac)the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For your servants hold her ^(ad)stones dear
    and have pity on her dust.
¹⁵ Nations will ^(ae)fear the name of the Lord,
    and all ^(af)the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
¹⁶ For the Lord ^(ag)builds up Zion;
    he ^(ah)appears in his glory;
¹⁷ he ^(ai)regards the prayer of the destitute
    and does not despise their prayer.

¹⁸ Let this be ^(aj)recorded for ^(ak)a generation to come,
    so that ^(al)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
¹⁹ that he ^(am)looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
²⁰ to hear ^(an)the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free ^(ao)those who were doomed to die,
²¹ that they may ^(ap)declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
    and in Jerusalem his praise,
²² when ^(aq)peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

²³ He has broken my strength in midcourse;
    he ^(ar)has shortened my days.
²⁴ "O my God," ^(as)I say, "take me not away
    in the midst of my days—
^(at)you whose years endure
    throughout all generations!"

^25 (au)Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and ^(av)the heavens are the work of your hands.
^26 (aw)They will perish, but ^(ax)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 ^(ay)you are the same, and your years have no end.
^28 (az)The children of your servants ^(ba)shall dwell secure;
    ^(bb)their offspring shall be established before you.