| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“But now they mock at me, men younger than I, 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. |
| 2Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. | 2What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them. |
| 3They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, | 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night. |
| 4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. | 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. |
| 5They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. | 5They were expelled from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves. |
| 6They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks. | 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
| 7Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. | 7They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles. |
| 8They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. | 8Foolish men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land. |
| 9“And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. | 9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. |
| 10They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face. | 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. |
| 11Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me. | 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. |
| 12At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction. | 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. |
| 13They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. | 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. |
| 14They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along. | 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. |
| 15Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed 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 because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. | 16Now my life is poured out before my eyes, and days of suffering have seized me. |
| 17My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. | 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. |
| 18By great force my garment is disfigured; 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. |
| 19He 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, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. | 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You merely look at me. |
| 21But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me. | 21You have turned against me with cruelty; You harass me with Your strong hand. |
| 22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. | 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; You scatter me in the storm. |
| 23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living. | 23Yes, I know that You will lead me to death-- the place appointed for all who live. |
| 24“Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. | 24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined man when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. |
| 25Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? | 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? |
| 26But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness. | 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. |
| 27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. | 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. |
| 28I go about mourning, but not in the sun; 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. |
| 29I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. | 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. |
| 30My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. | 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. |
| 31My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep. | 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. |
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