Day 24 of 31

¹Hear my prayer, Lord! Let my cry come to you.

²Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call.

³For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a firebrand.

⁴My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.

⁵By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin.

⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places.

⁷I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.

⁸My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.

⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,

¹⁰Because of your indignation and your wrath, for you have taken me up, and thrown me away.

¹¹My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.

¹²But you, Lord, will abide forever; your renown endures to all generations.

¹³You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come.

¹⁴For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust.

¹⁵So the nations will fear the name of the Lord; all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁶For the Lord has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory.

¹⁷He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer.

¹⁸This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah.

¹⁹For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord saw the earth;

²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoner; to free those who are condemned to death;

²¹that men may declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;

²²when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

²³He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days.

²⁴I said, "My God, do not take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations.

²⁵Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.

²⁷But you are the same. Your years will have no end.

²⁸The children of your servants will continue. Their seed will be established before you."

¹Praise the Lord, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!

²Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all his benefits;

³who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;

⁴who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies;

⁵who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶The Lord executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel.

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

⁹He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever.

¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³Like a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

¹⁴For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

¹⁶For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷But the Lord's loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children's children;

¹⁸to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.

²¹Praise the Lord, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.

²²Praise the Lord, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul!

¹Bless the Lord, my soul. The Lord, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.

²He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.

³He lays the beams of his chambers in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.

⁴He makes his angels winds; his servants flames of fire.

⁵He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.

⁶You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains.

⁷At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.

⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them.

⁹You have set a boundary that they may not pass over; that they do not turn again to cover the earth.

¹⁰He sends forth springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.

¹¹They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹²The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.

¹³He waters the mountains from his chambers. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works.

¹⁴He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth:

¹⁵wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man's heart.

¹⁶The Lord's trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted;

¹⁷where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the fir trees.

¹⁸The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

¹⁹He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.

²⁰You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.

²¹The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.

²²The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.

²³Man goes forth to his work, to his labor until the evening.

²⁴The Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. The earth is full of your riches.

²⁵There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.

²⁶There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.

²⁷These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season.

²⁸You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.

²⁹You hide your face: they are troubled; you take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.

³⁰You send forth your Spirit: they are created. You renew the face of the ground.

³¹Let the glory of the Lord endure forever. Let the Lord rejoice in his works.

³²He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.

³⁴Let your meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the Lord.

³⁵Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord!

¹Do not be envious of evil men; neither desire to be with them:

²for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about mischief.

³Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;

⁴by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.

⁵A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;

⁶for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool: he doesn't open his mouth in the gate.

⁸One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.

⁹The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.

¹⁰If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.

¹¹Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!

¹²If you say, "Behold, we did not know this;" doesn't he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn't he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good; the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:

¹⁴so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul; if you have found it, then there will be a reward, your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Do not destroy his resting place:

¹⁶for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;

¹⁸lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

¹⁹Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked:

²⁰for there will be no reward to the evil man; and the lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.

²¹My son, fear the Lord and the king. Do not join those who are rebellious:

²²for their calamity will rise suddenly; the destruction from them both-who knows?

²³These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous;" peoples shall curse him, and nations shall abhor him-

²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."

³⁰I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:

³³a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;

³⁴so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.