New American Standard Bible 1995 | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
1"But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock. | 1But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs. |
2"Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them. | 2What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them. |
3"From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation, | 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night. |
4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub. | 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. |
5"They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief, | 5They were expelled from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves. |
6So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks. | 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
7"Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together. | 7They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles. |
8"Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land. | 8Foolish men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land. |
9"And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them. | 9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. |
10"They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face. | 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. |
11"Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me. | 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. |
12"On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction. | 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. |
13"They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them. | 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. |
14"As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on. | 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. |
15"Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. | 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud. |
16"And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me. | 16Now my life is poured out before my eyes, and days of suffering have seized me. |
17"At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest. | 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. |
18"By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. | 18My clothing is distorted with great force; He chokes me by the neck of my garment. |
19"He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. | 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. |
20"I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me. | 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You merely look at me. |
21"You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me. | 21You have turned against me with cruelty; You harass me with Your strong hand. |
22"You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm. | 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; You scatter me in the storm. |
23"For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living. | 23Yes, I know that You will lead me to death-- the place appointed for all who live. |
24"Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help? | 24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined man when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. |
25"Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? | 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? |
26"When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came. | 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. |
27"I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me. | 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. |
28"I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. | 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. |
29"I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches. | 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. |
30"My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. |
31"Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep. | 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. |
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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