Read the Bible

¹ But men younger than I am make fun of me now!
Their fathers have always been so worthless
    that I wouldn't let them help my dogs guard sheep.
² They were a bunch of worn-out men,
    too weak to do any work for me.
³ They were so poor and hungry
    that they would gnaw dry roots—
    at night, in wild, desolate places.
⁴ They pulled up the plants of the desert and ate them,
    even the tasteless roots of the broom tree!
⁵ Everyone drove them away with shouts,
    as if they were shouting at thieves.
⁶ They had to live in caves,
    in holes dug in the sides of cliffs.
⁷ Out in the wilds they howled like animals
    and huddled together under the bushes.
⁸ A worthless bunch of nameless nobodies!
    They were driven out of the land.

⁹ Now they come and laugh at me;
    I am nothing but a joke to them.
¹⁰ They treat me with disgust;
    they think they are too good for me,
    and even come and spit in my face.
¹¹ Because God has made me weak and helpless,
    they turn against me with all their fury.
¹² This mob attacks me head-on;
    they send me running; they prepare their final assault.
¹³ They cut off my escape and try to destroy me;
    and there is no one to stop^[a] them.
¹⁴ They pour through the holes in my defenses
    and come crashing down on top of me;
¹⁵ I am overcome with terror;
    my dignity is gone like a puff of wind,
    and my prosperity like a cloud.

¹⁶ Now I am about to die;
    there is no relief for my suffering.
¹⁷ At night my bones all ache;
    the pain that gnaws me never stops.
¹⁸ God seizes me by my collar
    and twists my clothes out of shape.
¹⁹ He throws me down in the mud;
    I am no better than dirt.

²⁰ I call to you, O God, but you never answer;
    and when I pray, you pay no attention.
²¹ You are treating me cruelly;
    you persecute me with all your power.
²² You let the wind blow me away;
    you toss me about in a raging storm.
²³ I know you are taking me off to my death,
    to the fate in store for everyone.
²⁴ Why do you attack a ruined man,
    one who can do nothing but beg for pity?^[b]
25 Didn't I weep with people in trouble
    and feel sorry for those in need?
²⁶ I hoped for happiness and light,
    but trouble and darkness came instead.
²⁷ I am torn apart by worry and pain;
    I have had day after day of suffering.
²⁸ I go about in gloom, without any sunshine;
    I stand up in public and plead for help.
²⁹ My voice is as sad and lonely
    as the cries of a jackal or an ostrich.
³⁰ My skin has turned dark; I am burning with fever.
³¹ Where once I heard joyful music,
    now I hear only mourning and weeping.