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¹ I am the man who has seen trouble by the rod of his wrath.² By him I have been made to go in the dark where there is no light.³ Truly against me his hand has been turned again and again all the day.⁴ My flesh and my skin have been used up by him and my bones broken.⁵ He has put up a wall against me, shutting me in with bitter sorrow.⁶ He has kept me in dark places, like those who have been long dead.⁷ He has put a wall round me, so that I am not able to go out; he has made great the weight of my chain.⁸ Even when I send up a cry for help, he keeps my prayer shut out.⁹ He has put up a wall of cut stones about my ways, he has made my roads twisted.¹⁰ He is like a bear waiting for me, like a lion in secret places.¹¹ By him my ways have been turned on one side and I have been pulled in bits; he has made me waste.¹² With his bow bent, he has made me the mark for his arrows.¹³ He has let loose his arrows into the inmost parts of my body.¹⁴ I have become the sport of all the peoples; I am their song all the day.¹⁵ He has made my life nothing but pain, he has given me the bitter root in full measure.¹⁶ By him my teeth have been broken with crushed stones, and I am bent low in the dust.¹⁷ My soul is sent far away from peace, I have no more memory of good.¹⁸ And I said, My strength is cut off, and my hope from the Lord.¹⁹ Keep in mind my trouble and my wandering, the bitter root and the poison.²⁰ My soul still keeps the memory of them; and is bent down in me.

²¹ This I keep in mind, and because of this I have hope.²² It is through the Lord's love that we have not come to destruction, because his mercies have no limit.²³ They are new every morning; great is your good faith.²⁴ I said to myself, The Lord is my heritage; and because of this I will have hope in him.²⁵ The Lord is good to those who are waiting for him, to the soul which is looking for him.²⁶ It is good to go on hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord.²⁷ It is good for a man to undergo the yoke when he is young.²⁸ Let him be seated by himself, saying nothing, because he has put it on him.²⁹ Let him put his mouth in the dust, if by chance there may be hope.³⁰ Let his face be turned to him who gives him blows; let him be full of shame.³¹ For the Lord does not give a man up for ever.³² For though he sends grief, still he will have pity in the full measure of his love.³³ For he has no pleasure in troubling and causing grief to the children of men.³⁴ In a man's crushing under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,³⁵ In his turning away the right of a man before the face of the Most High.³⁶ In his doing wrong to a man in his cause, the Lord has no pleasure.

³⁷ Who is able to say a thing, and give effect to it, if it has not been ordered by the Lord?³⁸ Do not evil and good come from the mouth of the Most High?³⁹ What protest may a living man make, even a man about the punishment of his sin?⁴⁰ Let us make search and put our ways to the test, turning again to the Lord;⁴¹ Lifting up our hearts with our hands to God in the heavens.

⁴² We have done wrong and gone against your law; we have not had your forgiveness.⁴³ Covering yourself with wrath you have gone after us, cutting us off without pity;⁴⁴ Covering yourself with a cloud, so that prayer may not get through.⁴⁵ You have made us like waste and that for which there is no use, among the peoples.⁴⁶ The mouths of all our haters are open wide against us.⁴⁷ Fear and deep waters have come on us, wasting and destruction.⁴⁸ Rivers of water are running down from my eyes, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.⁴⁹ My eyes are streaming without stopping, they have no rest,⁵⁰ Till the Lord's eye is turned on me, till he sees my trouble from heaven.⁵¹ The Lord is unkind to my soul, more than all the daughters of my town.⁵² They who are against me without cause have gone hard after me as if I was a bird;⁵³ They have put an end to my life in the prison, stoning me with stones.⁵⁴ Waters were flowing over my head; I said, I am cut off.

⁵⁵ I was making prayer to your name, O Lord, out of the lowest prison.⁵⁶ My voice came to you; let not your ear be shut to my breathing, to my cry.⁵⁷ You came near in the day when I made my prayer to you: you said, Have no fear.⁵⁸ O Lord, you have taken up the cause of my soul, you have made my life safe.⁵⁹ O Lord, you have seen my wrong; be judge in my cause.⁶⁰ You have seen all the evil rewards they have sent on me, and all their designs against me.⁶¹ Their bitter words have come to your ears, O Lord, and all their designs against me;⁶² The lips of those who came up against me, and their thoughts against me all the day.⁶³ Take note of them when they are seated, and when they get up; I am their song.⁶⁴ You will give them their reward, O Lord, answering to the work of their hands.⁶⁵ You will let their hearts be covered over with your curse on them.⁶⁶ You will go after them in wrath, and put an end to them from under the heavens of the Lord.