New International Version NIV
New Living Translation NLT
1 “But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
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“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?
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A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches!
3 Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed the parched land in desolate wastelands at night.
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They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom bush.
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They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees.
5 They were banished from human society, shouted at as if they were thieves.
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They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves.
6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
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So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.
7 They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth.
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They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles.
8 A base and nameless brood, they were driven out of the land.
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They are nameless fools, outcasts from society.
9 “And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
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“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me!
10 They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
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They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face.
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.
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For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.
12 On my right the tribe attacks; they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me.
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These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path.
13 They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me. ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
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They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in.
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They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down.
15 Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud.
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I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
16 “And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me.
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“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days.
17 Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest.
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At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly.
18 In his great power God becomes like clothing to me ; he binds me like the neck of my garment.
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With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.
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He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me.
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“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.
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You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me.
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm.
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You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.
23 I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
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And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live.
24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.
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“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble.
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
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Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness.
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So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
27 The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.
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My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.
28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
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I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.
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Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls.
30 My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever.
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My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning, and my pipe to the sound of wailing.
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My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.