A Prayer of the afflicted, when he {Or, fainteth}is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Jehovah.
Hear my prayer, O Jehovah,
And let my cry come unto thee.
Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress:
Incline thine ear unto me;
In the day when I call answer me speedily.
For my days consume away {Or, in smoke}like smoke,
And my bones are burned {Or, as a hearth}as a firebrand.
My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
For I forget to eat my bread.
By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am become as an owl of the waste places.
I watch, and am become like a sparrow
That is alone upon the house-top.
Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
They that are mad against me do curse by me.
For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
My days are like a shadow that {Or, is stretched out}declineth;
And I am withered like grass.
But thou, O Jehovah, {Or, sittest as King}wilt abide for ever;
And thy memorial name unto all generations.
Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion;
For it is time to have pity upon her,
Yea, the set time is come.
For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
And have pity upon her dust.
So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
For Jehovah hath built up Zion;
He hath appeared in his glory.
He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And hath not despised their prayer.
This shall be written for the generation to come;
And a people which shall be created shall praise {Hebrew: Jah.}Jehovah.
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;
From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
To hear the sighing of the prisoner;
To loose {Hebrew: the children of death.}those that are appointed to death;
That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion,
And his praise in Jerusalem;
When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
He {Another reading is, afflicted me with his strength.}weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are throughout all generations.
Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;
And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They 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:
But thou art the same,
And thy years shall have no end.
The children of thy servants shall continue,
And their seed shall be established before thee.
Querverweise zu Psalm 102,8 Ps 102,8
Because of all mine adversaries I am become a reproach,Yea, unto my neighbors exceedingly,And a fear to mine acquaintance:They that did see me without fled from me.
I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind:I am like a broken vessel.
For I have heard the defaming of many,Terror on every side:While they took counsel together against meThey devised to take away my life.
Why do the nations {Or, tumultuously assemble}rage,And the peoples meditate a vain thing?
And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy.
And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
Now therefore do ye with the council signify to the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain that he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly: and we, before he comes near, are ready to slay him.
But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, {Or, having come in upon them, and he entered &c.}and he came and entered into the castle and told Paul.
And Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain; for he hath something to tell him.
So he took him, and brought him to the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee.
And the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me?
And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring down Paul tomorrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him.
Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him: and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee.
So the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me.
And he called unto him two of the centurions, and said, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Cæsarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night:
and he bade them provide beasts, that they might set Paul thereon, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
And he wrote a letter after this form:
Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix, greeting.
This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
And desiring to know the cause wherefore they accused him, {Some ancient authorities omit I brought him down unto their council.}I brought him down unto their council:
whom I found to be accused about questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
And when it was shown to me that there would be a plot {Many ancient authorities read against the man on their part, I sent him to thee, charging &c.}against the man, I sent him to thee forthwith, charging his accusers also to speak against him before thee. {Many ancient authorities add Farewell.}
So the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.
But on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
and they, when they came to Cæsarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
And when he had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia,
I will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's {Greek: Prætorium.}palace.
Because of the voice of the enemy,Because of the oppression of the wicked;For they cast iniquity upon me,And in anger they persecute me.
But they were filled with {Or, foolishness}madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me.
Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting,That was to my reproach.
And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities.
Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am {Or, sore sick}full of heaviness:And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;And for comforters, but I found none.
Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Jehovah,Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.
For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, {Psalm 69:9}The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me.