1My spirit is broken.

My days are extinguished.

A graveyard a awaits me.

2Surely mockers surround b me

and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion. c

3Make arrangements! Put up security for me. d  e

Who else will be my sponsor? f

4You have closed their minds to understanding,

therefore You will not honor them.

5If a man informs on his friends for a price,

the eyes of his children will fail.

6He has made me an object of scorn to the people;

I have become a man people spit at. g  h

7My eyes have grown dim from grief,

and my whole body has become but a shadow.

8The upright are appalled i at this,

and the innocent are roused against the godless.

9Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,

and the one whose hands are ^•clean j will grow stronger.

10But come back and try again, all of you. k

I will not find a wise man among you.

11My days have slipped by;

my plans have been ruined,

even the things dear to my heart.

12They turned night into day

and made light seem near in the face of darkness. l

13If I await ^•Sheol as my home,

spread out my bed in darkness,

14and say to corruption: You are my father,

and to the maggot: My mother or my sister, m

15where then is my hope? n

Who can see any hope for me?

16Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, o

or will we descend together to the dust?