1 My spirit is broken.
My days are extinguished.
A graveyard h awaits me.
2 Surely mockers surround J me,
and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion. i
3 Accept my pledge! Put up security for me. j
Who else will be my sponsor? K
4 You have closed their minds to understanding,
therefore you will not honor them.
5 If a man denounces his friends for a price,
the eyes of his children will fail.
6 He has made me an object of scorn to the people;
I have become a man people spit at. L,k
7 My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.
8 The upright are appalled l at this,
and the innocent are roused against the godless.
9 Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean m will grow stronger.
10 But come back and try again, all of you. M
I will not find a wise man among you.
11 My days have slipped by;
my plans have been ruined,
even the things dear to my heart.
and made light seem near in the face of darkness. n
13 If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,
14 and say to corruption, “You are my father,”
and to the maggot, “My mother” or “My sister,” o
15 where then is my hope? p
Who can see any hope for me?
16 Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, q
or will we descend together to the dust?