1My spirit is broken.

My days are extinguished.

A graveyarda awaits me.

2Surely mockers surroundA me,

and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.a

3Accept my pledge! Put up security for me.a

Who else will be my sponsor?A

4You have closed their minds to understanding,

therefore you will not honor them.

5If a man denounces 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.a a

7My eyes have grown dim from grief,

and my whole body has become but a shadow.

8The upright are appalleda 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 cleana will grow stronger.

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

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.a

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,”a

15where then is my hope?a

Who can see any hope for me?

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

or will we descend together to the dust?