² “I have heard many things like these;
    you are miserable comforters,^(A) all of you!^(B)
3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?^(C)
    What ails you that you keep on arguing?^(D)
4 I also could speak like you,
    if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
    and shake my head^(E) at you.
⁵ But my mouth would encourage you;
    comfort^(F) from my lips would bring you relief.^(G)

⁶ “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
    and if I refrain, it does not go away.^(H)
7 Surely, God, you have worn me out;^(I)
    you have devastated my entire household.^(J)
8 You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness;
    my gauntness^(K) rises up and testifies against me.^(L)
9 God assails me and tears^(M) me in his anger^(N)
    and gnashes his teeth at me;^(O)
    my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.^(P)
10 People open their mouths^(Q) to jeer at me;^(R)
    they strike my cheek^(S) in scorn
    and unite together against me.^(T)
11 God has turned me over to the ungodly
    and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.^(U)
12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
    he seized me by the neck and crushed me.^(V)
He has made me his target;^(W)
13     his archers surround me.^(X)
Without pity, he pierces^(Y) my kidneys
    and spills my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ Again and again^(Z) he bursts upon me;
    he rushes at me like a warrior.^(AA)

¹⁵ “I have sewed sackcloth^(AB) over my skin
    and buried my brow in the dust.^(AC)
16 My face is red with weeping,^(AD)
    dark shadows ring my eyes;^(AE)
17 yet my hands have been free of violence^(AF)
    and my prayer is pure.^(AG)

¹⁸ “Earth, do not cover my blood;^(AH)
    may my cry^(AI) never be laid to rest!^(AJ)
19 Even now my witness^(AK) is in heaven;^(AL)
    my advocate is on high.^(AM)
20 My intercessor^(AN) is my friend^[a](AO)
    as my eyes pour out^(AP) tears^(AQ) to God;
²¹ on behalf of a man he pleads^(AR) with God
    as one pleads for a friend.

²² “Only a few years will pass
    before I take the path of no return.^(AS)

³ “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.^(F)
    Who else will put up security^(G) for me?^(H)
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;^(I)
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
⁵ If anyone denounces their friends for reward,^(J)
    the eyes of their children will fail.^(K)

⁶ “God has made me a byword^(L) to everyone,^(M)
    a man in whose face people spit.^(N)
7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;^(O)
    my whole frame is but a shadow.^(P)
8 The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are aroused^(Q) against the ungodly.
⁹ Nevertheless, the righteous^(R) will hold to their ways,
    and those with clean hands^(S) will grow stronger.^(T)

¹⁰ “But come on, all of you, try again!
    I will not find a wise man among you.^(U)
11 My days have passed,^(V) my plans are shattered.
    Yet the desires of my heart^(W)
12 turn night into day;^(X)
    in the face of the darkness light is near.^(Y)
13 If the only home I hope for is the grave,^(Z)
    if I spread out my bed^(AA) in the realm of darkness,^(AB)
14 if I say to corruption,^(AC) ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm,^(AD) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
¹⁵ where then is my hope—^(AE)
    who can see any hope for me?^(AF)
16 Will it go down to the gates of death?^(AG)
    Will we descend together into the dust?”^(AH)