| Revised Standard Version (RSV) |
New International Version (NIV) |
|
1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;
|
1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
|
|
2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light;
|
2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
|
|
3 surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.
|
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
|
|
4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, and broken my bones;
|
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.
|
|
5 he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation;
|
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
|
|
6 he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.
|
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
|
|
7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me;
|
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.
|
|
8 though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;
|
8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
|
|
9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked.
|
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.
|
|
10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding;
|
10 Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding,
|
|
11 he led me off my way and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate;
|
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help.
|
|
12 he bent his bow and set me as a mark for his arrow.
|
12 He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.
|
|
13 He drove into my heart the arrows of his quiver;
|
13 He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.
|
|
14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long.
|
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
|
|
15 He has filled me with bitterness, he has sated me with wormwood.
|
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall.
|
|
16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;
|
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.
|
|
17 my soul is bereft of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is;
|
17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
|
|
18 so I say, "Gone is my glory, and my expectation from the LORD."
|
18 So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD."
|
|
19 Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall!
|
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
|
|
20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
|
20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
|
|
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
|
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
|
|
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
|
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
|
|
23 they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
|
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
|
|
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
|
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
|
|
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
|
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
|
|
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
|
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
|
|
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
|
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.
|
|
28 Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him;
|
28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him.
|
|
29 let him put his mouth in the dust--there may yet be hope;
|
29 Let him bury his face in the dust-- there may yet be hope.
|
|
30 let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
|
30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.
|
|
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever,
|
31 For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.
|
|
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
|
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
|
|
33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
|
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.
|
|
34 To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
|
34 To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,
|
|
35 to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High,
|
35 to deny a man his rights before the Most High,
|
|
36 to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.
|
36 to deprive a man of justice-- would not the Lord see such things?
|
|
37 Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
|
37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?
|
|
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?
|
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
|
|
39 Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?
|
39 Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?
|
|
40 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!
|
40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
|
|
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
|
41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say:
|
|
42 "We have transgressed and rebelled, and thou hast not forgiven.
|
42 "We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.
|
|
43 "Thou hast wrapped thyself with anger and pursued us, slaying without pity;
|
43 "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity.
|
|
44 thou hast wrapped thyself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.
|
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.
|
|
45 Thou hast made us offscouring and refuse among the peoples.
|
45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
|
|
46 "All our enemies rail against us;
|
46 "All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us.
|
|
47 panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction;
|
47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction."
|
|
48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
|
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.
|
|
49 "My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite,
|
49 My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief,
|
|
50 until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees;
|
50 until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.
|
|
51 my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the maidens of my city.
|
51 What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city.
|
|
52 "I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause;
|
52 Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.
|
|
53 they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me;
|
53 They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me;
|
|
54 water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost.'
|
54 the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to be cut off.
|
|
55 "I called on thy name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit;
|
55 I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit.
|
|
56 thou didst hear my plea, 'Do not close thine ear to my cry for help!'
|
56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief."
|
|
57 Thou didst come near when I called on thee; thou didst say, 'Do not fear!'
|
57 You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."
|
|
58 "Thou hast taken up my cause, O Lord, thou hast redeemed my life.
|
58 O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life.
|
|
59 Thou hast seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge thou my cause.
|
59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!
|
|
60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance, all their devices against me.
|
60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me.
|
|
61 "Thou hast heard their taunts, O LORD, all their devices against me.
|
61 O LORD, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me--
|
|
62 The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long.
|
62 what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.
|
|
63 Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the burden of their songs.
|
63 Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.
|
|
64 "Thou wilt requite them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
|
64 Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, for what their hands have done.
|
|
65 Thou wilt give them dullness of heart; thy curse will be on them.
|
65 Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them!
|
|
66 Thou wilt pursue them in anger and destroy them from under thy heavens, O LORD."
|
66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD.
|
| Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Revised Standard Version - Holy Bible) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
