67 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
67 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 30
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1 “But now I am mocked by people younger than I,
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by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.
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2 A lot of good they are to me—
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those worn-out wretches!
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3 They are gaunt from poverty and hunger.
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They claw the dry ground in desolate wastelands.
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4 They pluck wild greens from among the bushes
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and eat from the roots of broom trees.
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5 They are driven from human society,
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and people shout at them as if they were thieves.
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6 So now they live in frightening ravines,
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in caves and among the rocks.
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7 They sound like animals howling among the bushes,
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huddled together beneath the nettles.
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8 They are nameless fools,
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outcasts from society.
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9 “And now they mock me with vulgar songs!
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They taunt me!
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10 They despise me and won’t come near me,
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except to spit in my face.
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11 For God has cut my bowstring.
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He has humbled me,
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so they have thrown off all restraint.
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12 These outcasts oppose me to my face.
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They send me sprawling
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and lay traps in my path.
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13 They block my road
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and do everything they can to destroy me.
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They know I have no one to help me.
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14 They come at me from all directions.
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They jump on me when I am down.
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15 I live in terror now.
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My honor has blown away in the wind,
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and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.
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16 “And now my life seeps away.
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Depression haunts my days.
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17 At night my bones are filled with pain,
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which gnaws at me relentlessly.
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18 With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt.
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He grips me by the collar of my coat.
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19 He has thrown me into the mud.
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I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.
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20 “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer.
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I stand before you, but you don’t even look.
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21 You have become cruel toward me.
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You use your power to persecute me.
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22 You throw me into the whirlwind
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and destroy me in the storm.
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23 And I know you are sending me to my death—
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the destination of all who live.
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24 “Surely no one would turn against the needy
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when they cry for help in their trouble.
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25 Did I not weep for those in trouble?
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Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
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26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead.
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I waited for the light, but darkness fell.
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27 My heart is troubled and restless.
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Days of suffering torment me.
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28 I walk in gloom, without sunlight.
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I stand in the public square and cry for help.
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29 Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals
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and a companion to owls.
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30 My skin has turned dark,
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and my bones burn with fever.
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31 My harp plays sad music,
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and my flute accompanies those who weep. |