But now they that are younger than I have me in derision,
Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me?
Men in whom {Or, vigor}ripe age is perished.
They are gaunt with want and famine;
{Or, They flee into the wilderness, into &c.}They gnaw the dry ground, {Or, which yesternight was Or, on the eve of}in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
They pluck salt-wort by the bushes;
And the roots of the broom are {Or, to warm them}their food.
They are driven forth from the midst of men;
They cry after them as after a thief;
So that they dwell in frightful valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
Among the bushes they bray;
Under the {Or, wild vetches}nettles they {Or, stretch themselves}are gathered together.
They are children of fools, yea, children of {Hebrew: men of no name.}base men;
They {Or, are outcasts from the land}were scouraged out of the land.
And now I am become their song,
Yea, I am a byword unto them.
They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,
And spare not to spit {Or, at the sight of me}in my face.
For he hath loosed {According to another reading, my cord (or, bowstring).}his cord, and afflicted me;
And they have cast off the bridle before me.
Upon my right hand rise the {Or, brood}rabble;
They thrust aside my feet,
And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
They {Or, break up}mar my path,
They set forward my calamity,
Even men that have no helper.
{Or, As a wide breaking in of waters}As through a wide breach they come:
In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
Terrors are turned upon me;
{Or, Thou chasest}They chase {Or, my nobility}mine honor as the wind;
And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
And now my soul is poured out {Hebrew: upon.}within me;
Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
In the night season my bones are {Or, corroded and drop away from me}pierced {Hebrew: from off.}in me,
And {Or, my sinews take &c.}the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
By God's great force is my garment disfigured;
It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
He hath cast me into the mire,
And I am become like dust and ashes.
I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me:
I stand up, and thou gazest at me.
Thou art turned to be cruel to me;
With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.
Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it;
And thou dissolvest me in the storm.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death,
And {Or, the house of meeting for &c.}to the house appointed for all living.
Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall?
Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
When I looked for good, then evil came;
And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
My heart is troubled, and resteth not;
Days of affliction are come upon me.
I go {Or, blackened, but not by the sun}mourning without the sun:
I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
I am a brother to jackals,
And a companion to ostriches.
My skin is black, and falleth from me,
And my bones are burned with heat.
Therefore is my harp turned to mourning,
And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.
Querverweise zu Hiob 30,25 Hiob 30,25
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:I afflicted my soul with fasting;And my prayer {Or, shall return}returned into mine own bosom.
If I have withheld {Or, aught that the poor desired}the poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering;
If his loins have not blessed me,And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,Because I saw my help in the gate:
I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother:I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother.
For the Chief Musician; set to {Or, the eighth}the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.Help, Jehovah; for the godly man ceaseth;For {Or, faithfulness failed}the faithful fail from among the children of men.
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is taken captive.
He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth;But he that hath pity on the poor, happy is he.
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker;But he that hath mercy on the needy honoreth him.
And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,
Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker;And he that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
Jesus wept.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,And his good deed will he pay him again.
Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.
He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase,Gathereth it for him that hath pity on the poor.
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and {Or, redeem}break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be {Or, as otherwise read, a healing of thine error}a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
as it is written, {Psalm 112:9.}He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor;His righteousness abideth for ever.