171My spirit is broken.
My days are snuffed out.
The tomb is waiting for me.
2Surely mockery closes in on me.
My eyes must live with my enemies' bitter contempt.
3Please pay for me the deposit that you require from me.
Indeed, who else could guarantee this payment for me?
4You have hidden understanding from their hearts.
Therefore, you will not let them win.
5If someone denounces friends for a payoff,
his children's eyes will fail.
6He has made me a laughingstock among the people.
They spit in my face.
7My vision is blurry from grief.
I am just a shadow of myself.
8The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent are aroused against the godless.
9In spite of it all, the righteous hold tight to their ways,
and everyone with clean hands grows stronger.
10All right then, all of you, please come and try again,
but I will not find a wise man among you.
11My days have passed.
All the things I planned to do are ripped apart,
including the deepest desires of my heart.
12They turn night into day.
In the face of darkness, they claim light is near.
13If I wait hopefully for the grave to become my house,
if I spread out my bed in the darkness,
14if I cry out to the pit, “You are my father,”
and to the worm, “My mother” or “My sister,”
15where then is my hope?
Who can find any hope for me?
16Will it go down with me to the barred gates of the grave?
Will we rest in the dust together?
