Psalms 102 to 103 : English Standard Version   | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

Other VersionsPsalm 102

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102:1  Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! 2Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. 4My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. 5Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my flesh. 6I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl[1] of the waste places; 7I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. 8All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. 9For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, 10because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. 11My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

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

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

23He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days. 24“O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!”

25Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26They will perish, but 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 you are the same, and your years have no end. 28The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

[1] The precise identity of these birds is uncertain


Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

103:1  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14For he knows our frame;[2] he remembers that we are dust.

15As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, 18to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

20Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

[2] Or knows how we are formed

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