²⁶ So I looked for good, but evil came instead.
    I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

¹⁵ We hoped for peace, but no peace came.
    We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’

²⁵ What I always feared has happened to me.
    What I dreaded has come true.
²⁶ I have no peace, no quietness.
    I have no rest; only trouble comes.”

¹² The people of Maroth^[a] anxiously wait for relief,
    but only bitterness awaits them
as the Lord’s judgment reaches
    even to the gates of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
    without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
    and rely on your God.

¹¹ Light shines on the godly,
    and joy on those whose hearts are right.

¹⁸ Why then does my suffering continue?
    Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,
    like a spring that has gone dry.”

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family
    after a long, good life.^[a]

¹⁷ Darkness is all around me;
    thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.