1 ועתה שחקו עלי צעירים ממני לימים אשר מאסתי אבותם לשית עם כלבי צאני | 1 But now, those younger in years scorn me, whose fathers I would not have seen fit to place with the dogs of my flock, |
2 גם כח ידיהם למה לי עלימו אבד כלח | 2 the strength of whose hands was nothing to me, and they were considered unworthy of life itself. |
3 בחסר ובכפן גלמוד הערקים ציה אמש שואה ומשאה | 3 They were barren from poverty and hunger; they gnawed in solitude, layered with misfortune and misery. |
4 הקטפים מלוח עלי שיח ושרש רתמים לחמם | 4 And they chewed grass and the bark from trees, and the root of junipers was their food. |
5 מן גו יגרשו יריעו עלימו כגנב | 5 They took these things from the steep valleys, and when they discovered one of these things, they rushed to the others with a cry. |
6 בערוץ נחלים לשכן חרי עפר וכפים | 6 They lived in the parched desert and in caves underground or above the rocks. |
7 בין שיחים ינהקו תחת חרול יספחו | 7 They rejoiced among these kinds of things, and they considered it delightful to be under thorns. |
8 בני נבל גם בני בלי שם נכאו מן הארץ | 8 These are the sons of foolish and base men, not even paying any attention to the land. |
9 ועתה נגינתם הייתי ואהי להם למלה | 9 Now I become their song, and I have been made into their proverb. |
10 תעבוני רחקו מני ומפני לא חשכו רק | 10 They loathe me, and so they flee far from me, and they are not reluctant to spit in my face. |
11 כי יתרו פתח ויענני ורסן מפני שלחו | 11 For he has opened his quiver and has afflicted me, and he has placed a bridle in my mouth. |
12 על ימין פרחח יקומו רגלי שלחו ויסלו עלי ארחות אידם | 12 Immediately, upon rising, my calamities rise up to the right. They have overturned my feet and have pressed me down along their way like waves. |
13 נתסו נתיבתי להותי יעילו לא עזר למו | 13 They have diverted my journeys; they have waited to ambush me, and they have prevailed, and there was no one who might bring help. |
14 כפרץ רחב יאתיו תחת שאה התגלגלו | 14 They have rushed upon me, as when a wall is broken or a gate opened, and they have been pulled down into my miseries. |
15 ההפך עלי בלהות תרדף כרוח נדבתי וכעב עברה ישעתי | 15 I have been reduced to nothing. You have taken away my desire like a wind, and my health has passed by like a cloud. |
16 ועתה עלי תשתפך נפשי יאחזוני ימי עני | 16 But now my soul withers within myself, and the days of affliction take hold of me. |
17 לילה עצמי נקר מעלי וערקי לא ישכבון | 17 At night, my bone is pierced with sorrows, and those who feed on me, do not sleep. |
18 ברב כח יתחפש לבושי כפי כתנתי יאזרני | 18 By the sheer number of them my clothing is worn away, and they have closed in on me like the collar of my coat. |
19 הרני לחמר ואתמשל כעפר ואפר | 19 I have been treated like dirt, and I have been turned into embers and ashes. |
20 אשוע אליך ולא תענני עמדתי ותתבנן בי | 20 I cry to you, and you do not heed me. I stand up, and you do not look back at me. |
21 תהפך לאכזר לי בעצם ידך תשטמני | 21 You have changed me into hardness, and, with the hardness of your hand, you oppose me. |
22 תשאני אל רוח תרכיבני ותמגגני תשוה | 22 You have lifted me up, and, placing me as if on the wind, you have thrown me down powerfully. |
23 כי ידעתי מות תשיבני ובית מועד לכל חי | 23 I know that you will hand me over to death, where a home has been established for all the living. |
24 אך לא בעי ישלח יד אם בפידו להן שוע | 24 Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them. |
25 אם לא בכיתי לקשה יום עגמה נפשי לאביון | 25 Once, I wept over him who was afflicted, and my soul had compassion on the poor. |
26 כי טוב קויתי ויבא רע ואיחלה לאור ויבא אפל | 26 I expected good things, but evil things have come to me. I stood ready for light, yet darkness burst forth. |
27 מעי רתחו ולא דמו קדמני ימי עני | 27 My insides have seethed, without any rest, for the days of affliction have prevented it. |
28 קדר הלכתי בלא חמה קמתי בקהל אשוע | 28 I went forth mourning, without anger, and rising up, I cried out in confusion. |
29 אח הייתי לתנים ורע לבנות יענה | 29 I was the brother of snakes, and the companion of ostriches. |
30 עורי שחר מעלי ועצמי חרה מני חרב | 30 My skin has become blackened over me, and my bones have dried up because of the heat. |
31 ויהי לאבל כנרי ועגבי לקול בכים | 31 My harp has been turned into mourning, and my pipes have been turned into a voice of weeping. |