New American Standard Bible 1995

English Standard Version

1"But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

1“But now they laugh at me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

2"Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

2What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose vigor is gone?

3"From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

3Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;

4Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

4they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes, and the roots of the broom tree for their food.

5"They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,

5They are driven out from human company; they shout after them as after a thief.

6So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

6In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell, in holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7"Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

7Among the bushes they bray; under the nettles they huddle together.

8"Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land.

8A senseless, a nameless brood, they have been whipped out of the land.

9"And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.

9“And now I have become their song; I am a byword to them.

10"They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.

10They abhor me; they keep aloof from me; they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.

11"Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.

11Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.

12"On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.

12On my right hand the rabble rise; they push away my feet; they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13"They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them.

13They break up my path; they promote my calamity; they need no one to help them.

14"As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on.

14As through a wide breach they come; amid the crash they roll on.

15"Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

15Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16"And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me.

16“And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me.

17"At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest.

17The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.

18"By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

18With great force my garment is disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.

19"He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

19God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.

20"I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

20I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.

21"You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me.

21You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me.

22"You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm.

22You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.

23"For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living.

23For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living.

24"Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

24“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?

25"Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

25Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

26"When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.

26But when I hoped for good, evil came, and when I waited for light, darkness came.

27"I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me.

27My inward parts are in turmoil and never still; days of affliction come to meet me.

28"I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

28I go about darkened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29"I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches.

29I am a brother of jackals and a companion of ostriches.

30"My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.

30My skin turns black and falls from me, and my bones burn with heat.

31"Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

31My lyre is turned to mourning, and my pipe to the voice of those who weep.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.