_1-2I still rebel and complain against God;

I can't hold back my groaning.

₃How I wish I knew where to find him,

and knew how to go where he is.

₄I would state my case before him

and present all the arguments in my favour.

₅I want to know what he would say

and how he would answer me.

₆Would God use all his strength against me?

No, he would listen as I spoke.

₇I am honest; I could reason with God;

he would declare me innocent once and for all.

₈I have searched in the east, but God is not there;

I have not found him when I searched in the west.

₉God has been at work in the north and the south,

but still I have not seen him.

_16-17Almighty God has destroyed my courage.

It is God, not the dark, that makes me afraid —

even though the darkness has made me blind.

₁My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I have cried desperately for help,

but still it does not come.

₂During the day I call to you, my God,

but you do not answer;

I call at night,

but get no rest.

₃But you are enthroned as the Holy One,

the one whom Israel praises.

₄Our ancestors put their trust in you;

they trusted you, and you saved them.

₅They called to you and escaped from danger;

they trusted you and were not disappointed.

₆But I am no longer a human being; I am a worm,

despised and scorned by everyone!

₇All who see me jeer at me;

they stick out their tongues and shake their heads.

₈“You relied on the LORD,” they say.

“Why doesn't he save you?

If the LORD likes you,

why doesn't he help you?”

₉It was you who brought me safely through birth,

and when I was a baby, you kept me safe.

₁₀I have relied on you since the day I was born,

and you have always been my God.

₁₁Do not stay away from me!

Trouble is near,

and there is no one to help.

₁₂Many enemies surround me like bulls;

they are all round me,

like fierce bulls from the land of Bashan.

₁₃They open their mouths like lions,

roaring and tearing at me.

₁₄My strength is gone,

gone like water spilt on the ground.

All my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like melted wax.

₁₅My throat is as dry as dust,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You have left me for dead in the dust.