Psalms 102
What Happens in This Chapter
A person who is very sick and very sad prays to God for help. He says his days are going away like smoke, and his enemies make fun of him. Then he turns to God, who lasts forever, and says God will help the city of Zion again. The psalm ends by saying the earth and sky will wear out, but God stays the same.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee.
1LORD, please listen to my prayer. Let my cry for help reach you.
2Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.
2Do not turn away from me when I am hurting. Bend down and listen to me. Answer me quickly when I call.
3For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
3My days are going away like smoke. My bones feel hot like burning coals.
"Consumed like smoke" means his days disappear fast, the way smoke fades in the air.
4My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
4My heart hurts and dries up like old grass. I even forget to eat my food.
5By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
5I groan out loud so much that I am thin. My skin hangs right on my bones.
6I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
6I feel like a lonely owl out in the desert. I feel like a bird in an empty, broken-down place.
The KJV says "pelican" and "owl," but these are desert birds that live alone in empty places. The picture is loneliness, not a bird you would see at a zoo.
7I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
7I lie awake at night. I am like one lonely bird sitting on a roof.
8Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
8My enemies make fun of me all day long. They are angry, and they say bad things about me.
9For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
9Ashes are what I eat instead of bread. My tears fall into my drink.
10Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
10This happened because you were angry with me. You picked me up and then threw me down.
11My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
11My days are like a shadow at the end of the day. I dry up like old grass.
12But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
12But you, LORD, are king forever. People will remember you in every time to come.
13Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
13You will stand up and be kind to Zion, your city. The right time to help her has come.
Zion is another name for Jerusalem, the city where God's people worshiped.
14For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
14The people who serve you love that city. They even love her stones and her dust.
15So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
15Then people in other lands will honor the LORD's name. Every king on earth will honor how great he is.
16When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
16The LORD will build Zion up again. When he does, everyone will see how great he is.
17He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
17He will listen to the prayer of people who have nothing. He will not turn their prayer away.
18This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
18Write this down for the people who come later. People not yet born will praise the LORD.
19For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
19The LORD looked down from his holy home high above. From heaven he looked at the earth.
20To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
20He listened to prisoners crying in their pain. He set free people who were going to be killed.
21To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
21So people will tell about the LORD in Zion. They will praise him in Jerusalem.
22When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
22This will happen when many peoples come together. Kings and their lands will gather to serve the LORD.
23He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
23God made me weak while I was still walking my road. He made my life shorter.
24I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
24I said, "My God, please do not take me away yet. I am only halfway through my life. But you go on and on, forever.
25Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
25Long ago you made the earth stand firm. Your hands made the heavens too.
26They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
26They will end, but you will stay. They will wear out like old clothes. You will change them like changing a coat.
27But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
27But you never change. Your years will never end.
28The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
28The children of people who serve you will live safely. Their children will stay near you always."
← → to turn the page · P for plain English · click a verse to sit with it