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 anyone denounces their friends for reward,

         the eyes of their 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             The upright 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.

         Yet the desires of my heart

     12            turn night into day;

         in the face of the darkness light is near.

     13            If the only home I hope for is the grave,

         if I spread out my bed in the realm of 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?”