| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. | 1“But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs. |
| 2What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? | 2A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches! |
| 3Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. | 3They are gaunt from poverty and hunger. They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands. |
| 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. | 4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees. |
| 5They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves, | 5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves. |
| 6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. | 6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks. |
| 7They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles. | 7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles. |
| 8A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land. | 8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society. |
| 9And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. | 9“And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me! |
| 10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. | 10They despise me and won’t come near me, except to spit in my face. |
| 11Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. | 11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint. |
| 12The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me. | 12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path. |
| 13They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them. | 13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me. |
| 14They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in. | 14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down. |
| 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like 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 within me; days of affliction grip me. | 16“And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days. |
| 17Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest. | 17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly. |
| 18With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic. | 18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat. |
| 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. | 19He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes. |
| 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me. | 20“I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. |
| 21You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand. | 21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. |
| 22You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm. | 22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. |
| 23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. | 23And I know you are sending me to my death— the destination of all who live. |
| 24Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress. | 24“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. |
| 25Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? | 25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? |
| 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell. | 26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. |
| 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. | 27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me. |
| 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. | 28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. |
| 29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches. | 29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. |
| 30My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. |
| 31My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping. | 31My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep. |
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