^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 a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his 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. Upright men 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, and so are the desires of my heart.

^12. These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, `Light is near.'

^13. If the only home I hope for is the grave, [1] if I spread out my bed in 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 [2] ? Will we descend together into the dust?"