A prayer for one in affliction: the fifth penitential psalm.

¹ The prayer of the pauper, when he was anxious, and so he poured out his petition in the sight of the Lord.

² O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my outcry reach you.

³ Do not turn your face away from me. In whatever day that I am in trouble, incline your ear to me. In whatever day that I will call upon you, heed me quickly.

⁴ For my days have faded away like smoke, and my bones have dried out like firewood.

⁵ I have been cut down like hay, and my heart has withered, for I had forgotten to eat my bread.¹

1. 101:5This last part refers to those who separate themselves from the Eucharist: they dry out like hay and are cut down, and their hearts wither.(Conte)

⁶ Before the voice of my groaning, my bone has adhered to my flesh.

⁷ I have become like a pelican in solitude. I have become like a night raven in a house.¹

1. 101:7A pelican, etc: I am become through grief, like birds that affect solitude and darkness.(Challoner)

⁸ I have kept vigil, and I have become like a solitary sparrow on a roof.

⁹ All day long my enemies reproached me, and those who praised me swore oaths against me.

¹⁰ For I chewed on ashes like bread, and I mixed weeping into my drink.

¹¹ By the face of your anger and indignation, you lifted me up and threw me down.

¹² My days have declined like a shadow, and I have dried out like hay.

¹³ But you, O Lord, endure for eternity, and your memorial is from generation to generation.

¹⁴ You will rise up and take pity on Zion, for it is time for its mercy, for the time has come.

¹⁵ For its stones have pleased your servants, and they will take pity on its land.

¹⁶ And the Gentiles will fear your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁷ For the Lord has built up Zion, and he will be seen in his glory.

¹⁸ He has noticed the prayer of the humble, and he has not despised their petition.

¹⁹ Let these things be written in another generation, and the people who will be created will praise the Lord.

²⁰ For he has gazed from his high sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord has beheld the earth.

²¹ So may he hear the groans of those in shackles, in order that he may release the sons of the slain.

²² So may they announce the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem:

²³ while the people convene, along with kings, in order that they may serve the Lord.

²⁴ He responded to him in the way of his virtue: Declare to me the brevity of my days.¹

1. 101:24He answered him in the way of his strength: That is, the people, mentioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this psalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength: that is, according to the best of his power and strength: or when he was in the flower of his age and strength: inquiring after the fewness of his days: to know if he should live long enough to see the happy restoration of Sion, etc.(Challoner)

²⁵ Do not call me back in the middle of my days: your years are from generation to generation.

²⁶ In the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁷ They will perish, but you remain. And all will grow old like a garment. And, like a blanket, you will change them, and they will be changed.

²⁸ Yet you are ever yourself, and your years will not decline.

²⁹ The sons of your servants will live, and their offspring will be guided aright in every age.