1  ^zHear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry ^acome to you!

2  ^bDo not hide your face from me

in ^cthe day of my distress!

^dIncline your ear to me;

^eanswer me speedily ^fin the day when I call!

3  For my days ^gpass away like smoke,

and my ^hbones burn like a furnace.

4  My heart is ⁱstruck down like grass and ^jhas withered;

I ^kforget to eat my bread.

5  Because of my loud groaning

my ^lbones cling to my flesh.

6  I am like ^ma desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl¹ of the waste places;

7  I ⁿlie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

8  All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who ^oderide me ^puse my name for a curse.

9  For I eat ashes like bread

and ^qmingle tears with my drink,

10  because of your indignation and anger;

for you have ^rtaken me up and ^sthrown me down.

11  My days are like ^tan evening shadow;

I ^jwither away like grass.

12  But you, O Lord, are ^uenthroned forever;

you ^vare remembered throughout all generations.

13  You will ^warise and have ^xpity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

^ythe appointed time has come.

14  For your servants hold her ^zstones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15  Nations will ^afear the name of the Lord,

and all ^bthe kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16  For the Lord ^cbuilds up Zion;

he ^dappears in his glory;

17  he ^eregards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18  Let this be ^frecorded for ^ga generation to come,

so that ^ha people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

19  that he ⁱlooked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20  to hear ^jthe groans of the prisoners,

to set free ^kthose who were doomed to die,

21  that they may ^ldeclare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22  when ^mpeoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23  He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he ⁿhas shortened my days.

24  “O my God,” ^oI say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

^pyou whose years endure

throughout all generations!”

25  ^qOf old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and ^rthe heavens are the work of your hands.

26  ^sThey will perish, but ^tyou will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27  but ^uyou are the same, and your years have no end.

28  ^vThe children of your servants ^wshall dwell secure;

^xtheir offspring shall be established before you.

1  ^mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting¹ with strife.

2  A servant who deals wisely will rule over ⁿa son who acts shamefully

and ^owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3  ^pThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

^qand the Lord tests hearts.

4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

5  Whoever mocks the poor ^rinsults his Maker;

he who is ^sglad at calamity will not go ^tunpunished.

6  ^uGrandchildren are ^vthe crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7  Fine speech is not ^wbecoming to a fool;

still less is ^xfalse speech to a prince.

8  ^yA bribe is like a magic² stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

9  Whoever ^zcovers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter ^aseparates close friends.

10  A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

11  An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and ^ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12  Let a man meet ^ca she-bear robbed of her cubs

^drather than a fool in his folly.

13  If anyone ^ereturns evil for good,

^fevil will not depart from his house.

14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so ^gquit before the quarrel breaks out.

15  He who ^hjustifies the wicked and he who ⁱcondemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

16  Why should a fool have money in his hand ^jto buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

17  ^kA friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

18  One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

19  Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who ^lmakes his door high seeks destruction.

20  ^mA man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21  He who ⁿsires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22  ^oA joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit ^pdries up the bones.

23  The wicked accepts ^qa bribe in secret³

to ^rpervert the ways of justice.

24  ^sThe discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25  ⁿA foolish son is a grief to his father

^tand bitterness to ^uher who bore him.

26  ^vTo impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27  Whoever ^wrestrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28  Even a fool ^xwho keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.