⁴ I am as good as dead,
    like a strong man with no strength left.

¹ I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.
    Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
    I might as well give up and die.

⁷ Come quickly, Lord, and answer me,
    for my depression deepens.
Don’t turn away from me,
    or I will die.

⁶ I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
    I was imprisoned in the earth,
    whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
    snatched me from the jaws of death!

¹⁷ Yes, this anguish was good for me,
    for you have rescued me from death
    and forgiven all my sins.
¹⁸ For the dead^[a] cannot praise you;
    they cannot raise their voices in praise.
Those who go down to the grave
    can no longer hope in your faithfulness.

²² For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is full of pain.
²³ I am fading like a shadow at dusk;
    I am brushed off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak from fasting,
    and I am skin and bones.