³ For my days vanish like smoke;^(E)
    my bones^(F) burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass;^(G)
    I forget to eat my food.^(H)
5 In my distress I groan aloud^(I)
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,^(J)
    like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake;^(K) I have become
    like a bird alone^(L) on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies^(M) taunt me;^(N)
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.^(O)
9 For I eat ashes^(P) as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears^(Q)
10 because of your great wrath,^(R)
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow;^(S)
    I wither^(T) away like grass.

¹² But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;^(U)
    your renown endures^(V) through all generations.^(W)

²⁵ In the beginning^(A) you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens^(B) are the work of your hands.^(C)
26 They will perish,^(D) but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same,^(E)
    and your years will never end.^(F)
28 The children of your servants^(G) will live in your presence;
    their descendants^(H) will be established before you.”