²⁶ “You write bitter accusations against me
    and bring up all the sins of my youth.

⁷ Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
    Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
    for you are merciful, O Lord.

¹⁹ I turned away from God,
    but then I was sorry.
I kicked myself for my stupidity!
    I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’

¹¹ In the end you will groan in anguish
    when disease consumes your body.
¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    If only I had not ignored all the warnings!
¹³ Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?
    Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?

³ For my life is full of troubles,
    and death^[a] draws near.
⁴ I am as good as dead,
    like a strong man with no strength left.
⁵ They have left me among the dead,
    and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
    cut off from your care.
⁶ You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
    into the darkest depths.
⁷ Your anger weighs me down;
    with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude

⁸ You have driven my friends away
    by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
⁹     My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
    I lift my hands to you for mercy.
¹⁰ Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
    Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

¹¹ Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
    Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?^[b]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
    Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
¹³ O Lord, I cry out to you.
    I will keep on pleading day by day.
¹⁴ O Lord, why do you reject me?
    Why do you turn your face from me?

¹⁵ I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
    I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
¹⁶ Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
    Your terrors have paralyzed me.
¹⁷ They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
    They have engulfed me completely.
¹⁸ You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
    Darkness is my closest friend.

¹¹ Though they are young,
    their bones will lie in the dust.

²⁰ “Oh, why give light to those in misery,
    and life to those who are bitter?