1 P ero ahora se ríen de mí los más jóvenes que yo, A cuyos padres yo desdeñara poner con los perros de mi ganado.

“But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.

2 ¿ Y de qué me serviría ni aun la fuerza de sus manos? No tienen fuerza alguna.

Of what use is the strength of their hands to me, men in whom ripe age has perished?

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

They are gaunt from lack and famine. They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.

4 R ecogían malvas entre los arbustos, Y raíces de enebro para calentarse.

They pluck salt herbs by the bushes. The roots of the broom are their food.

5 E ran arrojados de entre las gentes, Y todos les daban grita como tras el ladrón.

They are driven out from among men. They cry 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.

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

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

Among the bushes they bray; and under the nettles they are gathered together.

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

They are children of fools, yes, children of base men. They were flogged out of the land.

9 Y ahora yo soy objeto de su burla, Y les sirvo de refrán.

“Now I have become their song. Yes, I am a byword to them.

10 M e abominan, se alejan de mí, Y aun de mi rostro no detuvieron su saliva.

They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.

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

For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me; and they have thrown off restraint before me.

12 A la mano derecha se levantó el populacho; Empujaron mis pies, Y prepararon contra mí caminos de perdición.

On my right hand rise the rabble. They thrust aside my feet, They cast up against me their ways of destruction.

13 M i senda desbarataron, Se aprovecharon de mi quebrantamiento, Y contra ellos no hubo ayudador.

They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, without anyone’s help.

14 V inieron como por portillo ancho, Se revolvieron sobre mi calamidad.

As through a wide breach they come, in the middle of the ruin they roll themselves in.

15 S e han revuelto turbaciones sobre mí; Combatieron como viento mi honor, Y mi prosperidad pasó como nube.

Terrors have turned on me. They chase my honor as the wind. My welfare has passed away as a cloud.

16 Y ahora mi alma está derramada en mí; Días de aflicción se apoderan de mí.

“Now my soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold on me.

17 L a noche taladra mis huesos, Y los dolores que me roen no reposan.

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

18 L a violencia deforma mi vestidura; me ciñe como el cuello de mi túnica.

By great force is my garment disfigured. It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

19 E l me derribó en el lodo, Y soy semejante al polvo y a la ceniza.

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

20 C lamo a ti, y no me oyes; Me presento, y no me atiendes.

I cry to you, and you do not answer me. I stand up, and you gaze at me.

21 T e has vuelto cruel para mí; Con el poder de tu mano me persigues.

You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.

22 M e alzaste sobre el viento, me hiciste cabalgar en él, Y disolviste mi sustancia.

You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it. You dissolve me in the storm.

23 P orque yo sé que me conduces a la muerte, Y a la casa determinada a todo viviente.

For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.

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

“However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

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

Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?

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

When I looked for good, then evil came; When I waited for light, there came darkness.

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

My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest. Days of affliction have come on me.

28 A ndo ennegrecido, y no por el sol; Me he levantado en la congregación, y clamado.

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

29 H e venido a ser hermano de chacales, Y compañero de avestruces.

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

30 M i piel se ha ennegrecido y se me cae, Y mis huesos arden de calor.

My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.

31 S e ha cambiado mi arpa en luto, Y mi flauta en voz de lamentadores.

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