1 B ut now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

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

2 Y ea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

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

3 T hey are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

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

4 T hey pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.

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

5 T hey are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief;

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

6 S o that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

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

7 A mong the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

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

8 T hey are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.

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

9 A nd now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.

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

10 T hey abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

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

11 F or he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

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

12 U pon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

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

13 T hey mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper.

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

14 A s through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.

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

15 T errors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.

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

16 A nd now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

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

17 I n the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

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

18 B y God's great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.

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

19 H e hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.

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

20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.

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

21 T hou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

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

22 T hou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

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

23 F or I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

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

24 H owbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

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

25 D id not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

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

26 W hen I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.

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

27 M y heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.

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

28 I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

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

29 I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

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

30 M y skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.

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

31 T herefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

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