New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
1"But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put 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. |
2"Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them. | 2A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches! |
3"From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation, | 3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands. |
4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub. | 4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees. |
5"They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief, | 5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves. |
6So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks. | 6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks. |
7"Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together. | 7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles. |
8"Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land. | 8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society. |
9"And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them. | 9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! |
10"They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face. | 10They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face. |
11"Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me. | 11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint. |
12"On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction. | 12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. |
13"They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them. | 13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. |
14"As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on. | 14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. |
15"Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. | 15I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud. |
16"And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me. | 16“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. |
17"At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest. | 17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly. |
18"By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds 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. |
19"He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. | 19He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than 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. | 20“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. |
21"You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me. | 21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. |
22"You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm. | 22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. |
23"For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living. | 23And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of 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? | 24“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. |
25"Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy? | 25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? |
26"When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came. | 26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. |
27"I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me. | 27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. |
28"I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. | 28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. |
29"I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches. | 29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. |
30"My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin has turned dark, 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 harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep. |
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 | 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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