1
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I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. |
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2
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He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light. |
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3
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Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long. |
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4
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He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones. |
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5
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He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. |
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6
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He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages. |
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7
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He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. |
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8
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Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer. |
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9
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He has barred my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked. |
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10
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He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush. |
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11
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He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help. |
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12
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He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow. |
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13
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He pierced my kidneys with His arrows. |
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14
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I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long. |
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15
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He has filled me with bitterness; He has intoxicated me with wormwood. |
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16
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He has ground my teeth with gravel and trampled me in the dust. |
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17
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My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. |
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18
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So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.” |
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19
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Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. |
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20
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Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. |
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21
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Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: |
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22
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Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. |
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23
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They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! |
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24
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“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” |
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25
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The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. |
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26
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It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. |
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27
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It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young. |
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28
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Let him sit alone in silence, for God has disciplined him. |
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29
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Let him bury his face in the dust—perhaps there is still hope. |
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30
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Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach. |
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31
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For the Lord will not cast us off forever. |
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32
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Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion. |
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33
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For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men. |
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34
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To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land, |
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35
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to deny a man justice before the Most High, |
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36
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to subvert a man in his lawsuit—of these the Lord does not approve. |
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37
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Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? |
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38
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Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High? |
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39
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Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins? |
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40
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Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD. |
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41
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Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: |
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42
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“We have sinned and rebelled; You have not forgiven.” |
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43
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You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity. |
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44
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You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through. |
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45
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You have made us scum and refuse among the nations. |
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46
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All our enemies open their mouths against us. |
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47
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Panic and pitfall have come upon us—devastation and destruction. |
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48
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Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people. |
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49
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My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief, |
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50
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until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees. |
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51
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My eyes bring grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city. |
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52
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Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird. |
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53
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They dropped me alive into a pit and cast stones upon me. |
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54
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The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die. |
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55
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I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit. |
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56
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You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.” |
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57
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You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.” |
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58
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You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life. |
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59
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You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause! |
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60
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You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me. |
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61
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O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me— |
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62
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the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long. |
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63
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When they sit and when they rise, see how they mock me in song. |
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64
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You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. |
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65
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Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them! |
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66
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You will pursue them in anger and exterminate them from under Your heavens, O LORD. |
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