1 Young people now insult me,

although their fathers

would have been a disgrace

to my sheep dogs.

2 And those who insult me

are helpless themselves.

3 They must claw the desert sand

in the dark for something

to satisfy their hunger.*

4 They gather tasteless shrubs

for food and firewood,

5 and they are run out of towns,

as though they were thieves.

6 Their only homes are ditches

or holes between rocks,

7 where they bray like donkeys

gathering around shrubs.

8 And like senseless donkeys

they are chased away.

9 Those worthless nobodies

make up jokes and songs

to disgrace me.

10 They are hateful

and keep their distance,

even while spitting

in my direction.

11 God has destroyed me,

and so they don't care

what they do.*

12 Their attacks never stop,

though I am defenseless,

and my feet are trapped.*

13 Without any help,

they prevent my escape,

destroying me completely*

14 and leaving me crushed.

15 Terror has me surrounded;

my reputation and my riches

have vanished like a cloud.

16 I am sick at heart!

Pain has taken its toll.

17 Night chews on my bones,

causing endless torment,

18 and God has shrunk my skin,

choking me to death.*

19 I have been thrown in the dirt

and now am dirt myself.

20 I beg God for help,

but there is no answer;

and when I stand up,

he simply stares.

21 God has turned brutal,

22 stirring up a windstorm

to toss me about.

23 Soon he will send me home

to the world of the dead,

where we all must go.

24 No one refuses help to others,

when disaster strikes.*

25 I mourned for the poor

and those who suffered.

26 But when I beg for relief

and light,

all I receive are disaster

and darkness.

27 My stomach is tied in knots;

pain is my daily companion.

28 My days are dark and gloomy

and in the city council

I stand and cry out,

29 making mournful sounds

like jackals* and owls.

30 My skin is so parched,

that it peels right off,

and my bones are burning.

31 My only songs are sorrow

and sadness.