1. I am the man who has known affliction Under the rod of His wrath;
2. Me He drove on and on In unrelieved darkness;
3. On none but me He brings down His hand Again and again, without cease.
4. He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
5. All around me He has built Misery and hardship;
6. He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those long dead.
7. He has walled me in and I cannot break out; He has weighed me down with chains.
8. And when I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer;
9. He has walled in my ways with hewn blocks, He has made my paths a maze.
10. He is a lurking bear to me, A lion in hiding;
11. He has forced me off my way and mangled me, He has left me numb.
12. He has bent His bow and made me The target of His arrows:
13. He has shot into my vitals The shafts of His quiver.
14. I have become a laughingstock to all people, The butt of their gibes all day long.
15. He has filled me with bitterness, Sated me with wormwood.
16. He has broken my teeth on gravel, Has ground me into the dust.
17. My life was bereft of peace, I forgot what happiness was.
18. I thought my strength and hope Had perished before the LORD.
19. To recall my distress and my misery Was wormwood and poison;
20. Whenever I thought of them, I was bowed low.
21. But this do I call to mind, Therefore I have hope:
22. The kindness of the LORD has not ended, His mercies are not spent.
23. They are renewed every morning -- Ample is Your grace!
24. "The LORD is my portion," I say with full heart; Therefore will I hope in Him.
25. The LORD is good to those who trust in Him, To the one who seeks Him;
26. It is good to wait patiently Till rescue comes from the LORD.
27. It is good for a man, when young, To bear a yoke;
28. Let him sit alone and be patient, When He has laid it upon him.
29. Let him put his mouth to the dust -- There may yet be hope.
30. Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; Let him be surfeited with mockery.
31. For the Lord does not Reject forever,
32. But first afflicts, then pardons In His abundant kindness.
33. For He does not willfully bring grief Or affliction to man,
34. Crushing under His feet All the prisoners of the earth.
35. To deny a man his rights In the presence of the Most High,
36. To wrong a man in his cause -- This the Lord does not choose.
37. Whose decree was ever fulfilled, Unless the Lord willed it?
38. Is it not at the word of the Most High, That weal and woe befall?
39. Of what shall a living man complain? Each one of his own sins!
40. Let us search and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD;
41. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands To God in heaven:
42. We have transgressed and rebelled, And You have not forgiven.
43. You have clothed Yourself in anger and pursued us, You have slain without pity.
44. You have screened Yourself off with a cloud, That no prayer may pass through.
45. You have made us filth and refuse In the midst of the peoples.
46. All our enemies loudly Rail against us.
47. Panic and pitfall are our lot, Death and destruction.
48. My eyes shed streams of water Over the ruin of my poor people.
49. My eyes shall flow without cease, Without respite,
50. Until the LORD looks down And beholds from heaven.
51. My eyes have brought me grief Over all the maidens of my city.
52. My foes have snared me like a bird, Without any cause.
53. They have ended my life in a pit And cast stones at me.
54. Waters flowed over my head; I said: I am lost!
55. I have called on Your name, O LORD, From the depths of the Pit.
56. Hear my plea; Do not shut Your ear To my groan, to my cry!
57. You have ever drawn nigh when I called You; You have said, "Do not fear!"
58. You championed my cause, O Lord, You have redeemed my life.
59. You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done me; Oh, vindicate my right!
60. You have seen all their malice, All their designs against me;
61. You have heard, O LORD, their taunts, All their designs against me,
62. The mouthings and pratings of my adversaries Against me all day long.
63. See how, at their ease or at work, I am the butt of their gibes.
64. Give them, O LORD, their deserts According to their deeds.
65. Give them anguish of heart; Your curse be upon them!
66. Oh, pursue them in wrath and destroy them From under the heavens of the LORD!
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