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1.
My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.
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2.
Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
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3.
"Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?
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4.
You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.
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5.
If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail.
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6.
"God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.
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7.
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
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8.
Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
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9.
Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
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10.
"But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.
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11.
My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart.
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12.
These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.'
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13.
If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness,
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14.
if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
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15.
where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
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16.
Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?"
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