1 A nd now, laughed at me, Have the younger in days than I, Whose fathers I have loathed to set With the dogs of my flock.

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

2 A lso -- the power of their hands, why to me? On them hath old age perished.

Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished.

3 W ith want and with famine gloomy, Those fleeing to a dry place, Formerly a desolation and waste,

They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,

4 T hose cropping mallows near a shrub, And broom-roots their food.

Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food.

5 F rom the midst they are cast out, (They shout against them as a thief),

They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief.

6 I n a frightful place of valleys to dwell, Holes of earth and clefts.

They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks.

7 A mong shrubs they do groan, Under nettles they are gathered together.

Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled.

8 S ons of folly -- even sons without name, They have been smitten from the land.

They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land.

9 A nd now, their song I have been, And I am to them for a byword.

“And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword.

10 T hey have abominated me, They have kept far from me, And from before me have not spared to spit.

They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 B ecause His cord He loosed and afflicteth me, And the bridle from before me, They have cast away.

Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me.

12 O n the right hand doth a brood arise, My feet they have cast away, And they raise up against me, Their paths of calamity.

At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction.

13 T hey have broken down my path, By my calamity they profit, `He hath no helper.'

They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper.

14 A s a wide breach they come, Under the desolation have rolled themselves.

They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along.

15 H e hath turned against me terrors, It pursueth as the wind mine abundance, And as a thick cloud, Hath my safety passed away.

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

16 A nd now, in me my soul poureth itself out, Seize me do days of affliction.

“And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.

17 A t night my bone hath been pierced in me, And mine eyelids do not lie down.

My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest.

18 B y the abundance of power, Is my clothing changed, As the mouth of my coat it doth gird me.

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

19 C asting me into 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 have stood, and Thou dost consider me.

“I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me.

21 T hou art turned to be fierce to me, With the strength of Thy hand, Thou oppresest me.

But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.

22 T hou dost lift me up, On the wind Thou dost cause me to ride, And Thou meltest -- Thou levellest me.

You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success.

23 F or I have known To death Thou dost bring me back, And the house appointed for all living.

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

24 S urely not against the heap Doth He send forth the hand, Though in its ruin they have safety.

“Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it.

25 D id not I weep for him whose day is hard? Grieved hath my soul for the needy.

Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

26 W hen good I expected, then cometh evil, And I wait for light, and darkness cometh.

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

27 M y bowels have boiled, and have not ceased, Gone before me have days of affliction.

My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me.

28 M ourning I have gone without the sun, I have risen, in an assembly I cry.

I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

29 A brother I have been to dragons, And a companion to daughters of the ostrich.

I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches.

30 M y skin hath been black upon me, And my bone hath burned from heat,

My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever.

31 A nd my harp doth become mourning, And my organ the sound of weeping.

My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep.