Read the Bible

¹ Lord, listen to my prayer;
    let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide from me
    in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to me.
    When I cry for help, answer me quickly.

³ My life is passing away like smoke,
    and my bones are burned up with fire.
⁴ My heart is like grass
    that has been cut and dried.
    I forget to eat.
⁵ Because of my grief,
    my skin hangs on my bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,
    like an owl living among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake.
    I am like a lonely bird on a housetop.
⁸ All day long enemies insult me;
    those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.
⁹ I eat ashes for food,
    and my tears fall into my drinks.
¹⁰ Because of your great anger,
    you have picked me up and thrown me away.
¹¹ My days are like a passing shadow;
    I am like dried grass.

¹² But, Lord, you rule forever,
    and your fame goes on and on.
¹³ You will come and have mercy on Jerusalem,
    because the time has now come to be kind to her;
    the right time has come.
¹⁴ Your servants love even her stones;
    they even care about her dust.
¹⁵ Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    and all the kings on earth will honor you.
¹⁶ The Lord will rebuild Jerusalem;
    there his glory will be seen.
¹⁷ He will answer the prayers of the needy;
    he will not reject their prayers.

¹⁸ Write these things for the future
    so that people who are not yet born will praise the Lord.
¹⁹ The Lord looked down from his holy place above;
    from heaven he looked down at the earth.
²⁰ He heard the moans of the prisoners,
    and he freed those sentenced to die.
²¹ The name of the Lord will be heard in Jerusalem;
    his praise will be heard there.
²² People will come together,
    and kingdoms will serve the Lord.

²³ God has made me tired of living;
    he has cut short my life.
²⁴ So I said, "My God, do not take me in the middle of my life.
    Your years go on and on.
²⁵ In the beginning you made the earth,
    and your hands made the skies.
²⁶ They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
    They will all wear out like clothes.
And, like clothes, you will change them
    and throw them away.
²⁷ But you never change,
    and your life will never end.
²⁸ Our children will live in your presence,
    and their children will remain with you."