³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.

¹⁴ Your fastest runners will not get away.
    The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.

¹⁰ Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
    but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

¹⁸ The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows.
    They will have no mercy on helpless babies
    and will show no compassion for children.”

¹⁶ The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
    nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.

¹⁷ That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men
    and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans.
For they are all wicked hypocrites,
    and they all speak foolishness.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

“I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
    and on gatherings of young men,
on husbands and wives
    and on those who are old and gray.

⁵ You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

²¹ For death has crept in through our windows
    and has entered our mansions.
It has killed off the flower of our youth:
    Children no longer play in the streets,
    and young men no longer gather in the squares.