| Holman Christian Standard Bible | Berean Study Bible |
| 1But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs. | 1“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs. |
| 2What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them. | 2What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them? |
| 3Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night. | 3Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night. |
| 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. | 4They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food. |
| 5They were expelled from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves. | 5They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves, |
| 6They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. | 6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground. |
| 7They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles. | 7They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles. |
| 8Foolish men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land. | 8A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land. |
| 9Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them. | 9And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them. |
| 10They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. | 10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. |
| 11Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. | 11Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence. |
| 12The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me. | 12The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me. |
| 13They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them. | 13They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them. |
| 14They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins. | 14They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in. |
| 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud. | 15Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud. |
| 16Now my life is poured out before my eyes, and days of suffering have seized me. | 16And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me. |
| 17Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest. | 17Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest. |
| 18My clothing is distorted with great force; He chokes me by the neck of my garment. | 18With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic. |
| 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. | 19He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes. |
| 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You merely look at me. | 20I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me. |
| 21You have turned against me with cruelty; You harass me with Your strong hand. | 21You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand. |
| 22You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; You scatter me in the storm. | 22You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm. |
| 23Yes, I know that You will lead me to death-- the place appointed for all who live. | 23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. |
| 24Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined man when he cries out to him for help because of his distress. | 24Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress. |
| 25Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? | 25Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy? |
| 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came. | 26But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell. |
| 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me. | 27I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me. |
| 28I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help. | 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. |
| 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. | 29I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches. |
| 30My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever. | 30My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever. |
| 31My lyre is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. | 31My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping. |
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