¹¹ Ruthless witnesses^(A) come forward;
    they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good^(B)
    and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth^(C)
    and humbled myself with fasting.^(D)
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
¹⁴     I went about mourning^(E)
    as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
    as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;^(F)
    assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
    They slandered^(G) me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[a](H)
    they gnashed their teeth^(I) at me.

⁹ Even my close friend,^(A)
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned^[a] against me.^(B)

¹² If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
¹³ But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,^(A)
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship^(B)
    at the house of God,^(C)
as we walked about
    among the worshipers.

²⁰ My companion attacks his friends;^(A)
    he violates his covenant.^(B)

²¹ His talk is smooth as butter,^(A)
    yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,^(B)
    yet they are drawn swords.^(C)

⁸ You have taken from me my closest friends^(A)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined^(B) and cannot escape;^(C)

¹⁸ You have taken from me friend^(A) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.