1
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“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul. |
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2
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I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me. |
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3
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Does it please You to oppress me, to reject the work of Your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked? |
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4
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Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as man sees? |
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5
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Are Your days like those of a mortal, or Your years like those of a man, |
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6
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that You should seek my iniquity and search out my sin— |
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7
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though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand? |
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8
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Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. Would You now turn and destroy me? |
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9
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Please remember that You molded me like clay. Would You now return me to dust? |
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10
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Did You not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese? |
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11
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You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. |
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12
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You have granted me life and loving devotion, and Your care has preserved my spirit. |
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13
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Yet You concealed these things in Your heart, and I know that this was in Your mind: |
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14
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If I sinned, You would take note, and would not acquit me of my iniquity. |
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15
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If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction. |
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16
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Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me. |
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17
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You produce new witnesses against me and multiply Your anger toward me. Hardships assault me in wave after wave. |
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18
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Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! |
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19
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If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave. |
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20
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Are my days not few? Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort, |
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21
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before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom, |
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22
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to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.” |
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