| 1 | My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me. | |
| 2 | Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility. | |
| 3 | "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me? | |
| 4 | You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph. | |
| 5 | If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail. | |
| 6 | "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit. | |
| 7 | My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow. | |
| 8 | Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly. | |
| 9 | Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger. | |
| 10 | "But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you. | |
| 11 | My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart. | |
| 12 | These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.' | |
| 13 | If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness, | |
| 14 | if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,' | |
| 15 | where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? | |
| 16 | Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?" | |