1
My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.
2
Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3
"Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.
Who else will put up security for me?
4
You have closed their minds to understanding;
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5
If anyone denounces their friends for reward,
the eyes of their children will fail.
6
"God has made me a byword to everyone,
a man in whose face people spit.
7
My eyes have grown dim with grief;
my whole frame is but a shadow.
8
The upright are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
9
Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
10
"But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.
11
My days have passed, my plans are shattered.
Yet the desires of my heart
12
turn night into day;
in the face of the darkness light is near.
13
If the only home I hope for is the grave,
if I spread out my bed in the realm of darkness,
14
if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,'
and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
15
where then is my hope -
who can see any hope for me?
16
Will it go down to the gates of death?
Will we descend together into the dust?"