1 M AS ahora los más mozos de días que yo, se ríen de mí; Cuyos padres yo desdeñara ponerlos con los perros de mi ganado.

But now they who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

2 P orque ¿para qué yo habría menester la fuerza de sus manos, En los cuales había perecido con el tiempo?

Yes, how could the strength of their hands profit me? They were men whose ripe age and vigor had perished.

3 P or causa de la pobreza y del hambre andaban solos; Huían á la soledad, á lugar tenebroso, asolado y desierto.

They are gaunt with want and famine; they gnaw the dry and barren ground or flee into the wilderness, into the gloom of wasteness and desolation.

4 Q ue cogían malvas entre los arbustos, Y raíces de enebro para calentarse.

They pluck saltwort or mallows among the bushes, and roots of the broom for their food or to warm them.

5 E ran echados de entre las gentes, Y todos les daban grita como al ladrón.

They are driven from among men, who shout after them as after a thief.

6 H abitaban en las barrancas de los arroyos, En las cavernas de la tierra, y en las rocas.

They must dwell in the clefts of frightful valleys (gullies made by torrents) and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 B ramaban entre las matas, Y se reunían debajo de las espinas.

Among the bushes they bray and howl; beneath the prickly scrub they fling themselves and huddle together.

8 H ijos de viles, y hombres sin nombre, Más bajos que la misma tierra.

Sons of the worthless and nameless, they have been scourged and crushed out of the land.

9 Y ahora yo soy su canción, Y he sido hecho su refrán.

And now I have become their song; yes, I am a byword to them.

10 A bomínanme, aléjanse de mí, Y aun de mi rostro no detuvieron su saliva.

They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and do not refrain from spitting in my face or at the sight of me.

11 P orque Dios desató mi cuerda, y me afligió, Por eso se desenfrenaron delante de mi rostro.

For God has loosed my bowstring and afflicted and humbled me; they have cast off the bridle before me.

12 A la mano derecha se levantaron los jóvenes; Empujaron mis pies, Y sentaron contra mí las vías de su ruina.

On my right hand rises the rabble brood; they jostle me and push away my feet, and they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13 M i senda desbarataron, Aprovecháronse de mi quebrantamiento, Contra los cuales no hubo ayudador.

They break up and clutter my path; they urge on my calamity, even though they have no helper.

14 V inieron como por portillo ancho, Revolviéronse á mi calamidad.

As through a wide breach they come in; amid the crash they roll themselves upon me.

15 H anse revuelto turbaciones sobre mí; Combatieron como viento mi alma, Y mi salud pasó como nube

Terrors are turned upon me; my honor and reputation they chase away like the wind, and my welfare has passed away as a cloud.

16 Y ahora mi alma está derramada en mí; Días de aflicción me han aprehendido.

And now my life is poured out within me; the days of affliction have gripped me.

17 D e noche taladra sobre mí mis huesos, Y mis pulsos no reposan.

My bones are pierced in the night season, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

18 C on la grande copia de materia mi vestidura está demudada; Cíñeme como el cuello de mi túnica.

By the great force my garment is disguised and disfigured; it binds me about like the collar of my coat.

19 D erribóme en el lodo, Y soy semejante al polvo y á la ceniza.

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

20 C lamo á ti, y no me oyes; Preséntome, y no me atiendes.

I cry to You, and You do not answer me; I stand up, but You gaze at me.

21 H aste tornado cruel para mí: Con la fortaleza de tu mano me amenazas.

You have become harsh and cruel to me; with the might of Your hand You persecute me.

22 L evantásteme, é hicísteme cabalgar sobre el viento, Y disolviste mi sustancia.

You lift me up on the wind; You cause me to ride upon it, and You toss me about in the tempest.

23 P orque yo conozco que me reduces á la muerte; Y á la casa determinada á todo viviente.

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

24 M as él no extenderá la mano contra el sepulcro; ¿Clamarán los sepultados cuando él los quebrantare?

However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand? Or in his calamity will he not therefore cry for help?

25 ¿ No lloré yo al afligido? Y mi alma ¿no se entristeció sobre el menesteroso?

Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my heart grieved for the poor and needy?

26 C uando esperaba yo el bien, entonces vino el mal; Y cuando esperaba luz, la oscuridad vino.

But when I looked for good, then evil came to me; and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

27 M is entrañas hierven, y no reposan; Días de aflicción me han sobrecogido.

My heart is troubled and does not rest; days of affliction come to meet me.

28 D enegrido ando, y no por el sol: Levantádome he en la congregación, y clamado.

I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the congregation and cry for help.

29 H e venido á ser hermano de los dragones, Y compañero de los buhos.

I am a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches.

30 M i piel está denegrida sobre mí, Y mis huesos se secaron con ardentía.

My skin falls from me in blackened flakes, and my bones are burned with heat.

31 Y hase tornado mi arpa en luto, Y mi órgano en voz de lamentadores.

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