⁶ I am bent over and racked with pain.
    All day long I walk around filled with grief.

²⁸ I walk in gloom, without sunlight.
    I stand in the public square and cry for help.

¹⁴ I was sad, as though they were my friends or family,
    as if I were grieving for my own mother.

⁹ “O God my rock,” I cry,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I wander around in grief,
    oppressed by my enemies?”

⁵ Why am I discouraged?
    Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
    I will praise him again—
    my Savior and

¹⁴ Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane,
    and then I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help.
    I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!”

¹⁴ The Lord helps the fallen
    and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

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.

⁶ My enemies have set a trap for me.
    I am weary from distress.
They have dug a deep pit in my path,
    but they themselves have fallen into it. Interlude