1 I am the man who has seen affliction Because of the rod of His wrath.

I the man hath seen affliction By the rod of His wrath.

2 H e has driven me and made me walk In darkness and not in light.

Me He hath led, and causeth to go darkness, and without light.

3 S urely against me He has turned His hand Repeatedly all the day.

Surely against me He turneth back, He turneth His hand all the day.

4 H e has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away, He has broken my bones.

He hath worn out my flesh and my skin. He hath broken my bones.

5 H e has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship.

He hath built up against me, And setteth round poverty and weariness.

6 I n dark places He has made me dwell, Like those who have long been dead.

In dark places He hath caused me to dwell, As the dead of old.

7 H e has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy.

He hath hedged me about, and I go not out, He hath made heavy my fetter.

8 E ven when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer.

Also when I call and cry out, He hath shut out my prayer.

9 H e has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked.

He hath hedged my ways with hewn work, My paths He hath made crooked.

10 H e is to me like a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in secret places.

A bear lying in wait He to me, A lion in secret hiding-places.

11 H e has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate.

My ways He is turning aside, and He pulleth me in pieces, He hath made me a desolation.

12 H e bent His bow And set me as a target for the arrow.

He hath trodden His bow, And setteth me up as a mark for an arrow.

13 H e made the arrows of His quiver To enter into my inward parts.

He hath caused to enter into my reins The sons of His quiver.

14 I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking song all the day.

I have been a derision to all my people, Their song all the day.

15 H e has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drunk with wormwood.

He hath filled me with bitter things, He hath filled me wormwood.

16 H e has broken my teeth with gravel; He has made me cower in the dust.

And He breaketh with gravel my teeth, He hath covered me with ashes.

17 M y soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.

And Thou castest off from peace my soul, I have forgotten prosperity.

18 S o I say, “My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the Lord.” Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

And I say, Perished hath my strength and my hope from Jehovah.

19 R emember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.

Remember my affliction and my mourning, Wormwood and gall!

20 S urely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me.

Remember well, and bow down doth my soul in me.

21 T his I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

This I turn to my heart -- therefore I hope.

22 T he Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.

The kindnesses of Jehovah! For we have not been consumed, For not ended have His mercies.

23 T hey are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

New every morning, abundant thy faithfulness.

24 “ The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”

My portion Jehovah, hath my soul said, Therefore I hope for Him.

25 T he Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

Good Jehovah to those waiting for Him, To the soul seeketh Him.

26 I t is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord.

Good! when one doth stay and stand still For the salvation of Jehovah.

27 I t is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth.

Good for a man that he beareth a yoke in his youth.

28 L et him sit alone and be silent Since He has laid it on him.

He sitteth alone, and is silent, For He hath laid upon him.

29 L et him put his mouth in the dust, Perhaps there is hope.

He putteth in the dust his mouth, if so be there is hope.

30 L et him give his cheek to the smiter, Let him be filled with reproach.

He giveth to his smiter the cheek, He is filled with reproach.

31 F or the Lord will not reject forever,

For the Lord doth not cast off to the age.

32 F or if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness.

For though He afflicted, yet He hath pitied, According to the abundance of His kindness.

33 F or He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men.

For He hath not afflicted with His heart, Nor doth He grieve the sons of men.

34 T o crush under His feet All the prisoners of the land,

To bruise under one's feet any bound ones of earth,

35 T o deprive a man of justice In the presence of the Most High,

To turn aside the judgment of a man, Over-against the face of the Most High,

36 T o defraud a man in his lawsuit— Of these things the Lord does not approve.

To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord hath not approved.

37 W ho is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it ?

Who this -- he hath said, and it is, the Lord hath not commanded ?

38 I s it not from the mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth?

From the mouth of the Most High Go not forth the evils and the good.

39 W hy should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins?

What -- sigh habitually doth a living man, A man for his sin?

40 L et us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord.

We search our ways, and investigate, And turn back unto Jehovah.

41 W e lift up our heart and hands Toward God in heaven;

We lift up our heart on the hands unto God in the heavens.

42 W e have transgressed and rebelled, You have not pardoned.

We -- we have transgressed and rebelled, Thou -- Thou hast not forgiven.

43 Y ou have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared.

Thou hast covered Thyself with anger, And dost pursue us; Thou hast slain -- Thou hast not pitied.

44 Y ou have covered Yourself with a cloud So that no prayer can pass through.

Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud, So that prayer doth not pass through.

45 Y ou have made us mere offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples.

Offscouring and refuse Thou dost make us In the midst of the peoples.

46 A ll our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

Opened against us their mouth have all our enemies.

47 P anic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction;

Fear and a snare hath been for us, Desolation and destruction.

48 M y eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Rivulets of water go down my eye, For the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 M y eyes pour down unceasingly, Without stopping,

Mine eye is poured out, And doth not cease without intermission,

50 U ntil the Lord looks down And sees from heaven.

Till Jehovah looketh and seeth from the heavens,

51 M y eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city.

My eye affecteth my soul, Because of all the daughters of my city.

52 M y enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird;

Hunted me sore as a bird have my enemies without cause.

53 T hey have silenced me in the pit And have placed a stone on me.

They have cut off in a pit my life, And they cast a stone against me.

54 W aters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!”

Flowed have waters over my head, I have said, I have been cut off.

55 I called on Your name, O Lord, Out of the lowest pit.

I called Thy name, O Jehovah, from the lower pit.

56 Y ou have heard my voice, “ Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, From my cry for help.”

My voice Thou hast heard, Hide not Thine ear at my breathing -- at my cry.

57 Y ou drew near when I called on You; You said, “ Do not fear!”

Thou hast drawn near in the day I call Thee, Thou hast said, Fear not.

58 O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life.

Thou hast pleaded, O Lord, the pleadings of my soul, Thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Lord, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case.

Thou hast seen, O Jehovah, my overthrow, Judge Thou my cause.

60 Y ou have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me.

Thou hast seen all their vengeance, All their thoughts of me.

61 Y ou have heard their reproach, O Lord, All their schemes against me.

Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah, All their thoughts against me,

62 T he lips of my assailants and their whispering Are against me all day long.

The lips of my withstanders, Even their meditation against me all the day.

63 L ook on their sitting and their rising; I am their mocking song.

Their sitting down, and their rising up, Behold attentively, I their song.

64 Y ou will recompense them, O Lord, According to the work of their hands.

Thou returnest to them the deed, O Jehovah, According to the work of their hands.

65 Y ou will give them hardness of heart, Your curse will be on them.

Thou givest to them a covered heart, Thy curse to them.

66 Y ou will pursue them in anger and destroy them From under the heavens of the Lord!

Thou pursuest in anger, and destroyest them, From under the heavens of Jehovah!