⁹ “And now they mock me with vulgar songs!
    They taunt me!
¹⁰ They despise me and won’t come near me,
    except to spit in my face.
¹¹ For God has cut my bowstring.
    He has humbled me,
    so they have thrown off all restraint.
¹² These outcasts oppose me to my face.
    They send me sprawling
    and lay traps in my path.
¹³ They block my road
    and do everything they can to destroy me.
They know I have no one to help me.
¹⁴     They come at me from all directions.
They jump on me when I am down.
¹⁵     I live in terror now.
My honor has blown away in the wind,
    and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my life seeps away.
    Depression haunts my days.
¹⁷ At night my bones are filled with pain,
    which gnaws at me relentlessly.
¹⁸ With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.^[a]
    He grips me by the collar of my coat.
¹⁹ He has thrown me into the mud.
    I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.

²⁰ “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.
    I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
²¹ You have become cruel toward me.
    You use your power to persecute me.
²² You throw me into the whirlwind
    and destroy me in the storm.
²³ And I know you are sending me to my death—
    the destination of all who live.

²⁴ “Surely no one would turn against the needy
    when they cry for help in their trouble.
²⁵ Did I not weep for those in trouble?
    Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
²⁶ So I looked for good, but evil came instead.
    I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
²⁷ My heart is troubled and restless.
    Days of suffering torment me.
²⁸ I walk in gloom, without sunlight.
    I stand in the public square and cry for help.
²⁹ Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals
    and a companion to owls.
³⁰ My skin has turned dark,
    and my bones burn with fever.
³¹ My harp plays sad music,
    and my flute accompanies those who weep.