[1] My strength is almost gone. I won’t live much longer. A grave is waiting for me. [2] People who make fun of me are all around me. I’m forced to watch as they attack me with their words. [3] “God, please pay the price to have me set free. Who else would put up money for me? [4] You have closed the minds of those who are trying to comfort me. They don’t understand that I haven’t done anything wrong. So don’t let them win the argument. [5] Suppose someone tells lies about their friends to get a reward. Then their own children will suffer for it. [6] “God has made an example of me. People spit in my face. [7] My eyes have grown weak because I’m so sad. My body is so thin it hardly casts a shadow. [8] People who claim to be honest are shocked when they see me. Those who think they haven’t sinned are stirred up against me. They think I’m ungodly. [9] But godly people will keep doing what is right. Those who have clean hands will grow stronger. [10] “Come on, all of you! Try again! I can’t find a wise person among you. [11] My life is almost over. My plans are destroyed. Yet the desires of my heart [12] turn night into day. Even though it’s dark, ‘Light is nearby.’ [13] Suppose the only home I can hope for is a grave. And suppose I make my bed in the darkness of death. [14] Suppose I say to the grave, ‘You are like a father to me.’ And suppose I say to its worms, ‘You are like a mother or sister to me.’ [15] Then what hope do I have? Who can give me any hope? [16] Will hope go down to the gates of death with me? Will we go down together into the dust of the grave?”
