1“But now men who are younger than I am make fun of me— men whose fathers I greatly despised, with the result that I would not even have allowed them to help my dogs guard my sheep.
2They were men who were old and ◄weak/worn out►; so ◄what could I gain from them working for me?/I would have gained nothing from them working for me.► RHQ
3They were very poor and hungry, with the result that they chewed on roots at night in dry and desolate places.
4They pulled up plants in the desert and ate them and warmed themselves by burning the roots of broom trees.
5Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves and expelled them from their areas.
6They were forced to live in caves in the hills, in holes in the ground, and in the sides of cliffs.
7In the bushes they howled like animals because they were hungry, and they huddled together under thornbushes.
8They were people without good sense, whose names no one knows; they have been expelled from the land where they were born.
9And now their children sing songs to make fun of me. They tell jokes about me.
10They are disgusted with me, and they usually stay away from me, but when they see me, they are happy to spit in my face.
11Because it is as though MET God has cut my bowstring, he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, and he has humbled me, and my enemies have done to me whatever they wanted.
12◄Gangs/Groups of violent youths► attack me and force me to run away; they prepare to destroy me.
13They prevent me from escaping, and they do not need anyone to help them (OR, there is no one to help me).
14It is as though I am a city wall and SIM they have broken through the wall, and they have come crashing down on me.
15I am very terrified; My dignity/honor has been taken away as though SIM it has been blown away by the wind, and my prosperity has disappeared like SIM clouds disappear.
16And now I SYN am about to die IDM; I suffer every day.
17My bones ache during the night, and the pain that torments me never stops.
18It is as though God seizes my clothes and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19He has thrown me into the mud; I am not worth anything more than dust and ashes.
20I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me; I stand up and pray, but he does not pay any attention.
21He acts very cruelly toward me; with all of his power MTY he causes me to suffer.
22He allows the wind to lift me up and blow me away, and he tosses me up and down in a violent storm.
23I know that he will cause me to die, which is what happens to everyone MTY who is alive.
24When people experience disasters, and they sit on a pile of ruins and cry out for help, others surely RHQ reach out their hand to help them.
25That is what I did previously. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles, and I felt sorry for poor/needy people.
26But when I expected good things to happen to me, evil things happened; when I waited for light/happiness, all I experienced was darkness/unhappiness MET.
27I am very distressed IDM, all the time; I suffer every day.
28I go about very discouraged; I stand up and plead for people to help me.
29My wailing sounds as sad as MET the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
30My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off, and I have a fever which causes my body to feel like it is burning.
31Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute, but now I play only the sad music of those who mourn.”
