| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. | 1"But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs. |
| 2Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? | 2Moreover, the strength of their hands--what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished; |
| 3For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. | 3gaunt with want and hunger, they would gnaw the parched land, in former time desolate and waste. |
| 4Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. | 4By the brush they would gather herbs from the salt marshes, and the root of the broom tree was their food. |
| 5They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;) | 5They were banished from the community--people shouted at them like they would shout at thieves-- |
| 6To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. | 6so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks. |
| 7Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. | 7They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles. |
| 8They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. | 8Sons of senseless and nameless people, they were driven out of the land with whips. |
| 9And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. | 9"And now I have become their taunt song; I have become a byword among them. |
| 10They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. | 10They detest me and maintain their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. |
| 11Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. | 11Because God has untied my tent cord and afflicted me, people throw off all restraint in my presence. |
| 12Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. | 12On my right the young rabble rise up; they drive me from place to place, and build up siege ramps against me. |
| 13They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. | 13They destroy my path; they succeed in destroying me without anyone assisting them. |
| 14They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. | 14They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash they come rolling in. |
| 15Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. | 15Terrors are turned loose on me; they drive away my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away. |
| 16And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. | 16"And now my soul pours itself out within me; days of suffering take hold of me. |
| 17My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. | 17Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never cease. |
| 18By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. | 18With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic. |
| 19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. | 19He has flung me into the mud, and I have come to resemble dust and ashes. |
| 20I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. | 20I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you only look at me. |
| 21Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. | 21You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you attack me. |
| 22Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. | 22You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; you toss me about in the storm. |
| 23For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. | 23I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living. |
| 24Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. | 24"Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress. |
| 25Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? | 25Have I not wept for the unfortunate? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? |
| 26When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. | 26But when I hoped for good, trouble came; when I expected light, then darkness came. |
| 27My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me. | 27My heart is in turmoil unceasingly; the days of my affliction confront me. |
| 28I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. | 28I go about blackened, but not by the sun; in the assembly I stand up and cry for help. |
| 29I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. | 29I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches. |
| 30My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. | 30My skin has turned dark on me; my body is hot with fever. |
| 31My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep. | 31My harp is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping. |
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