₇My people cry out to me,

‘Even though our sins accuse us,

help us, LORD, as you have promised.

We have turned away from you many times;

we have sinned against you.

₈You are Israel's only hope;

you are the one who saves us from disaster.

Why are you like a stranger in our land,

like a traveller who stays for only one night?

₉Why are you like someone taken by surprise,

like a soldier powerless to help?

Surely, LORD, you are with us!

We are your people;

do not abandon us.’ ”

₁₉LORD, have you completely rejected Judah?

Do you hate the people of Zion?

Why have you hurt us so badly

that we cannot be healed?

We looked for peace, but nothing good happened;

we hoped for healing, but terror came instead.

₂₀We have sinned against you, LORD;

we confess our own sins

and the sins of our ancestors.

₂₁Remember your promises and do not despise us;

do not bring disgrace on Jerusalem,

the place of your glorious throne.

Do not break the covenant you made with us.

₂₂None of the idols of the nations can send rain;

the sky by itself cannot make showers fall.

We have put our hope in you, O LORD our God,

because you are the one who does these things.

₁How I love your Temple, LORD Almighty!

₂How I want to be there!

I long to be in the LORD's Temple.

With my whole being I sing for joy

to the living God.

₃Even the sparrows have built a nest,

and the swallows have their own home;

they keep their young near your altars,

LORD Almighty, my king and my God.

₄How happy are those who live in your Temple,

always singing praise to you.

₅How happy are those whose strength comes from you,

who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion.

₆As they pass through the dry valley of Baca,

it becomes a place of springs;

the autumn rain fills it with pools.

₇They grow stronger as they go;

they will see the God of gods on Zion.