17 My strength is almost gone.
    I won’t live much longer.
    A grave is waiting for me.
² People who make fun of me are all around me.
    I’m forced to watch as they attack me with their words.

³ “God, please pay the price to have me set free.
    Who else would put up money for me?
⁴ You have closed the minds of those who are trying to comfort me.
    They don’t understand that I haven’t done anything wrong.
    So don’t let them win the argument.
⁵ Suppose someone tells lies about their friends to get a reward.
    Then their own children will suffer for it.

⁶ “God has made an example of me.
    People spit in my face.
⁷ My eyes have grown weak because I’m so sad.
    My body is so thin it hardly casts a shadow.
⁸ People who claim to be honest
    are shocked when they see me.
Those who think they haven’t sinned
    are stirred up against me.
    They think I’m ungodly.
⁹ But godly people will keep doing what is right.
    Those who have clean hands will grow stronger.

¹⁰ “Come on, all of you! Try again!
    I can’t find a wise person among you.
¹¹ My life is almost over. My plans are destroyed.
    Yet the desires of my heart
¹² turn night into day.
    Even though it’s dark,
    ‘Light is nearby.’
¹³ Suppose the only home I can hope for is a grave.
    And suppose I make my bed in the darkness of death.
¹⁴ Suppose I say to the grave,
    ‘You are like a father to me.’
And suppose I say to its worms,
    ‘You are like a mother or sister to me.’
¹⁵ Then what hope do I have?
    Who can give me any hope?
¹⁶ Will hope go down to the gates of death with me?
    Will we go down together into the dust of the grave?”