King James Bible | New Living Translation |
1But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. | 1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs. |
2Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? | 2A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches! |
3For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. | 3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands. |
4Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. | 4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees. |
5They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) | 5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves. |
6To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. | 6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks. |
7Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. | 7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles. |
8They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. | 8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society. |
9And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. | 9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! |
10They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. | 10They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face. |
11Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. | 11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint. |
12Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. | 12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. |
13They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. | 13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. |
14They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. | 14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. |
15Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. | 15I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud. |
16And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. | 16“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. |
17My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. | 17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly. |
18By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. | 18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat. |
19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. | 19He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes. |
20I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. | 20“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. |
21Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. | 21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. |
22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. | 22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. |
23For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. | 23And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live. |
24Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. | 24“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. |
25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? | 25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? |
26When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. | 26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. |
27My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. | 27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. |
28I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. | 28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. |
29I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. | 29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. |
30My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. | 30My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. |
31My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep. | 31My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep. |
King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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. |
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