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1 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.
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2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?
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3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.
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4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
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5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief;)
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6 To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
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7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.
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8 They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
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9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
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10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.
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11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.
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12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.
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13 They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.
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14 They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.
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15 Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
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16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
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17 My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.
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18 By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
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19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.
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20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
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21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
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22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.
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23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
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24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.
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25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
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26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
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27 My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.
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28 I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.
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29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
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30 My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
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31 My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
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- 1 “But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
- 2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.
- 3 “From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
- 4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
- 5 “They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,
- 6 So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
- 7 “Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
- 8 “Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land.
- 9 “And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.
- 10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.
- 11 “Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.
- 12 “On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.
- 13 “They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them.
- 14 “As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on.
- 15 “Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.
- 16 “And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me.
- 17 “At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest.
- 18 “By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
- 19 “He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
- 20 “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
- 21 “You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me.
- 22 “You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm.
- 23 “For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living.
- 24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?
- 25 “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
- 26 “When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.
- 27 “I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me.
- 28 “I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
- 29 “I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches.
- 30 “My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.
- 31 “Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
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