| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs. | 1But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs. |
| 2Moreover, the strength of their hands--what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished; | 2What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them. |
| 3gaunt with want and hunger, they would gnaw the parched land, in former time desolate and waste. | 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night. |
| 4By the brush they would gather herbs from the salt marshes, and the root of the broom tree was their food. | 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. |
| 5They were banished from the community--people shouted at them like they would shout at thieves-- | 5They were expelled from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves. |
| 6so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks. | 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
| 7They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles. | 7They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles. |
| 8Sons of senseless and nameless people, they were driven out of the land with whips. | 8Foolish men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land. |
| 9"And now I have become their taunt song; I have become a byword among them. | 9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. |
| 10They detest me and maintain their distance; 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 God has untied my tent cord and afflicted me, people throw off all restraint in my presence. | 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. |
| 12On my right the young rabble rise up; they drive me from place to place, and build up siege ramps against me. | 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. |
| 13They destroy my path; they succeed in destroying me without anyone assisting them. | 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. |
| 14They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash they come rolling in. | 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. |
| 15Terrors are turned loose on me; they drive away my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away. | 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 pours itself out within me; days of suffering take hold of me. | 16Now my life is poured out before my eyes, and days of suffering have seized me. |
| 17Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never cease. | 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. |
| 18With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic. | 18My clothing is distorted with great force; He chokes me by the neck of my garment. |
| 19He has flung me into the mud, and I have come to resemble dust and ashes. | 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. |
| 20I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you only look at me. | 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 to me; with the strength of your hand you attack me. | 21You have turned against me with cruelty; You harass me with Your strong hand. |
| 22You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; you toss me about in the storm. | 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; You scatter me in the storm. |
| 23I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living. | 23Yes, I know that You will lead me to death-- the place appointed for all who live. |
| 24"Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress. | 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 the unfortunate? Was 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 hoped for good, trouble came; when I expected light, then darkness came. | 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. |
| 27My heart is in turmoil unceasingly; the days of my affliction confront me. | 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. |
| 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun; in the assembly I stand up and cry for help. | 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. |
| 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. | 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. |
| 30My skin has turned dark on me; my body is hot with fever. | 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. |
| 31My harp is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. | 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. |
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