| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1“But now they mock at me, men younger than I, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock. | 1"But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs. |
| 2Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. | 2Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them? |
| 3They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, | 3Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed the parched land in desolate wastelands at night. |
| 4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. | 4In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom bush. |
| 5They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. | 5They were banished from human society, shouted at as if they were thieves. |
| 6They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks. | 6They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
| 7Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. | 7They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth. |
| 8They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. | 8A base and nameless brood, they were driven out of the land. |
| 9“And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. | 9"And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. |
| 10They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face. | 10They detest me and keep their distance; 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. | 11Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw 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. | 12On my right the tribe attacks; they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me. |
| 13They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. | 13They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me. 'No one can help him,' they say. |
| 14They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along. | 14They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in. |
| 15Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud. | 15Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud. |
| 16“And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. | 16"And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me. |
| 17My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. | 17Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest. |
| 18By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. | 18In his great power God becomes like clothing to me; he binds me like 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 am reduced to dust and ashes. |
| 20“I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. | 20"I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. |
| 21But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me. | 21You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me. |
| 22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. | 22You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm. |
| 23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living. | 23I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. |
| 24“Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. | 24"Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in 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 in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? |
| 26But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness. | 26Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. |
| 27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. | 27The churning inside me never stops; 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 go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. |
| 29I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. | 29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls. |
| 30My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. | 30My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever. |
| 31My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep. | 31My lyre is tuned to mourning, and my pipe to the sound of wailing. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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