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102:1  This is the prayer of a man who is weak and in trouble. He tells the Lord that he is very sad. Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to me when I call to you for help.
102:2  Now that I am in trouble, please do not turn away from me. Listen carefully to me. Now that I am calling to you for help, please answer me quickly.
102:3  My life is quickly disappearing, like smoke from a fire. My bones hurt very much, as if they were burning in an oven.
102:4  I am very weak and upset, like dry grass that will soon die. I even forget to eat my food.
102:5  I cry aloud with pain, so that I am just skin and bones.
102:6  I am like a wild bird in the desert. I am like an owl in the wilderness.
102:7  I am awake in the night, like a bird that sits alone on the roof.
102:8  All day my enemies insult me. They laugh at me and they use my name as a curse.
102:9  Because you are so angry with me, I eat ashes as my food. My tears drop into the water that I drink. It seems that you have picked me up, and then you have thrown me away.
102:10  Because you are so angry with me, I eat ashes as my food. My tears drop into the water that I drink. It seems that you have picked me up, and then you have thrown me away.
102:11  My days are disappearing, like a shadow in the evening. Like dry grass, I will soon die.
102:12  But you, Lord, rule for ever as king. People will always remember you.
102:13  You will soon be kind to Zion again. Now it is time to forgive her. Yes, the time is now right for you to do that.
102:14  Her buildings have become broken stones and dust. But your servants still love your city. We are sad to see that it is broken down.
102:15  The nations will respect the Lord's name. All the kings of the world will praise your glory.
102:16  That will happen when the Lord builds Zion again and he appears there in his glory.
102:17  He will answer the prayers of poor people who have nothing. He will not refuse to help them.
102:18  Write these things down for people who live in future times to read. Then they too will praise the Lord.
102:19  Tell them that the Lord looked down from his home in heaven. He saw what was happening on the earth.
102:20  He heard the prisoners call out in pain. He saved the lives of prisoners so they could go free before their enemies could kill them.
102:21  As a result, people will shout the Lord's name in Zion. Yes, they will praise him in Jerusalem!
102:22  At that time, people from all nations will meet together. The kingdoms of the world will come to serve the Lord.
102:23  But God has made me weak before I have reached old age. He has made my life short.
102:24  So I pray, ‘My God, please do not let me die now, in the middle of my life. The years of your life continue for ever!
102:25  Long ago, you built the world on a strong foundation. You created the heavens with your own hands.
102:26  They will all disappear one day, but you will remain. They will become spoiled, like old clothes. Like clothes, you will remove them, so that they disappear.
102:27  But you remain the same, Lord. The years of your life will never finish.
102:28  As your servants, our children will live here safely. Their children too will be safe, as they live near to you.’