New Living Translation | Christian Standard Bible |
1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs. | 1But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs. |
2A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches! | 2What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them. |
3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands. | 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night. |
4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees. | 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. |
5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves. | 5They were banished from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves. |
6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks. | 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles. | 7They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles. |
8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society. | 8Foolish men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land. |
9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! | 9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. |
10They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face. | 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. |
11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint. | 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. |
12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. | 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. |
13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. | 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. |
14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. | 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. |
15I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished 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 life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. | 16Now my life is poured out before me, and days of suffering have seized me. |
17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly. | 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. |
18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat. | 18My clothing is distorted with great force; he chokes me by the neck of my garment. |
19He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes. | 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. |
20“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. | 20I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; when I stand up, you merely look at me. |
21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. | 21You have turned against me with cruelty; you harass me with your strong hand. |
22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. | 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; you scatter me in the storm. |
23And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live. | 23Yes, I know that you will lead me to death--the place appointed for all who live. |
24“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. | 24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. |
25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? | 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? |
26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. | 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. |
27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. | 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. |
28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. | 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. |
29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. | 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. |
30My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. |
31My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep. | 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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