1 I am the man who has been suffering because of the power of God’s anger.

¶ Aleph I am a man that sees affliction in the rod of his wrath.

2 H e has led me and brought me into darkness and not into light.

Aleph He has led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

3 F or sure He has turned His hand against me again and again all day long.

Aleph Surely he is turned against me; he turns his hand against me all the day.

4 H e has made my flesh and my skin waste away. He has broken my bones.

Beth My flesh and my skin he has made old; he has broken my bones.

5 H e has shut me in with trouble and suffering.

Beth He has built against me and compassed me with gall and travail.

6 H e has made me live in dark places, like those who have been dead a long time.

Beth He has set me in dark places as those that are dead for ever.

7 H e has put a wall around me so that I cannot go out. He has put heavy chains on me.

Gimel He has hedged me about that I cannot get out; he has made my chain heavy.

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

Gimel Even when I cried and shouted, he shut out my prayer.

9 H e has stopped me with blocks of stone. He has made my paths no longer straight.

Gimel He has enclosed my ways with hewn stone; he has made my paths crooked.

10 H e is like a bear lying in wait, like a lion hiding in secret places.

Daleth He was unto me as a bear lying in wait and as a lion in secret places.

11 H e has turned me from the path and torn me to pieces. He has destroyed me.

Daleth He has made my ways crooked and pulled me in pieces; he has made me desolate.

12 H e used His bow, and set me as a mark for His arrow.

Daleth He has bent his bow and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 H e has taken out His arrows and sent them into my heart.

He He has caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.

14 A ll my people laugh at me. They sing songs that make fun of me all day long.

He I was a derision to all my people and their song every day.

15 H e has filled me with bitter feelings. He has made me drunk with wormwood.

He He has filled me with bitterness, he has made me drunk with wormwood.

16 H e has broken my teeth with rocks, and has covered me with dust.

Vau He has broken my teeth with gravel stones; he has covered me with ashes.

17 P eace has left my soul. I have forgotten what it is like to be happy.

Vau My soul removed itself far from peace; I forgot about good.

18 S o I say, “My strength is gone, and so has my hope from the Lord.”

Vau And I said, My strength and my hope of the LORD is perished.

19 R emember my trouble and my traveling from place to place, the wormwood and bitter feelings.

Zain Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 I remember it always, and my soul bows down within me.

Zain My soul shall have them still in remembrance because it is humbled in me.

21 B ut this I remember, and so I have hope.

¶ Zain This shall go down into my heart; therefore I shall wait.

22 I t is because of the Lord’s loving-kindness that we are not destroyed for His loving-pity never ends.

Chet It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed because his mercies never diminish.

23 I t is new every morning. He is so very faithful.

Chet They are new every morning; great is thy faith.

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

Chet The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore I will wait for him.

25 T he Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the one who looks for Him.

Teth The LORD is good unto those that wait in him, to the soul that seeks him.

26 I t is good that one should be quiet and wait for the saving power of the Lord.

Teth It is good to wait quietly in the salvation of the LORD.

27 I t is good for a man to carry the load while he is young.

Teth It is good for the man if he bears the yoke from his youth.

28 L et him sit alone and be quiet when God has laid the load on him.

Jod He shall sit alone and keep silence because he has borne it upon him.

29 L et him put his mouth in the dust. There may be hope yet.

Jod He shall put his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30 L et him give his face to the one who hits him, and be filled with shame.

Jod He shall turn his cheek unto him that smites him; he shall be filled with reproach.

31 F or the Lord will not turn away from a man forever.

Caph For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32 F or if He causes sorrow, He will have loving-pity because of His great loving-kindness.

Caph But though he causes grief, yet he will also have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 H e does not want to cause trouble or sorrow for the children of men.

Caph For he does not afflict nor grieve the sons of men from his heart.

34 H e is not pleased when all those on earth who are in prison are crushed under foot.

Lamed To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,

35 T he Most High is not pleased when the rights are kept away from a man who is before Him,

Lamed To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,

36 a nd when wrong is done to him in his cause. The Lord is not pleased with these things.

Lamed To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.

37 W ho has said that something would happen and then it did happen, unless the Lord has said that it should be?

¶ Mem Who shall he be that saith that something comes which the Lord has not sent?

38 I s it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and bad come?

Mem Out of the mouth of the most High proceeds not evil and good?

39 W hy should any living man complain about the punishment of his sins?

Mem Why does the living man have pain, the man in his sins?

40 L et us test and look over our ways, and return to the Lord.

Nun Let us search out our ways, and seek, and turn again to the LORD.

41 L et us lift up our heart and hands to God in heaven, saying,

Nun Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 “ We have sinned and would not obey You, and You have not forgiven us.

¶ Nun We have rebelled and been disloyal; therefore thou hast not forgiven.

43 Y ou have covered Yourself with anger and have followed us, killing without pity.

Samech Thou hast unfurled anger and persecuted us; thou hast slain, thou hast not forgiven.

44 Y ou have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

Samech Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through.

45 Y ou have made us a waste and something that is not wanted among the nations.

Samech Thou hast made us as the offscouring and abomination in the midst of the peoples.

46 A ll those who hate us have spoken against us.

Pe All our enemies have opened their mouths upon us.

47 F ear and a trap have come upon us. We are laid waste and destroyed.

Pe Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

48 M y eyes flow with rivers of tears because my people are destroyed.

Pe My eyes stream with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 T ears flow from my eyes all the time without stopping,

Ain My eyes run down, and cease not, for there is no relief,

50 u ntil the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.

Ain Until the LORD looks down, and beholds from the heavens.

51 M y eyes bring me suffering because of what is happening to all the women of my city.

Ain My eyes make my soul sad because of all the daughters of my city.

52 I have been hunted like a bird by those who hate me for no reason.

Tzaddi My enemies hunted me like a bird, without cause.

53 T hey threw me alive into the deep hole and have put a stone on me.

Tzaddi They bound up my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.

54 W ater flowed over my head, and I said, “I am cut off!”

Tzaddi Waters flowed over my head; then I said, I am dead.

55 I called on Your name, O Lord, out of the deep hole.

¶ Koph I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.

56 Y ou have heard my voice. Do not close Your ears to my cry for help.

Koph Thou hast heard my voice; do not hide thine ear at my cry that I might breath.

57 Y ou came near when I called You, and You said, “Do not be afraid!”

Koph Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou didst say, Fear not.

58 Y ou have helped me in my cause, O Lord. You have saved my life.

Resh O Lord, thou hast pleaded the cause of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Lord, You have seen the wrong done to me. Judge in my favor.

Resh O LORD, thou hast seen where I was wrong; plead thou my cause.

60 Y ou have seen how much they hate me and plan against me.

Resh Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.

61 O Lord, You have heard how they put me to shame and how they work against me.

Schin Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;

62 T he lips and thoughts of those who hurt me are against me all day long.

Schin The words of those that rose up against me, and their design against me all the day.

63 W atch their sitting down and standing up. I am their song as they make fun of me.

Schin Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their music.

64 O Lord, You will punish them for what they have done.

Tau Render unto them a recompense, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.

65 Y ou will give them hard hearts, and curse them.

Tau Give them sorrow of heart; thy curse unto them.

66 G o after them in anger and destroy them from under Your heavens, O Lord.

Tau Persecute them in thy anger and cut them off from under the heavens, oh LORD.