1“But now men who are younger than I am make fun of me—
2They were men who were old and ◄weak/worn out►;
3They were very poor and hungry,
4They pulled up plants in the desert and ate them
5Everyone shouted at them as though they were thieves
6They were forced to live in caves in the hills,
7In the bushes they howled like animals because they were hungry,
8They were people without good sense,
9“And now their children sing songs to make fun of me.
10They are disgusted with me, and they usually stay away from me,
11Because it is as though [MET] God has cut my bowstring, he has caused me to be unable to defend myself, and he has humbled me,
12◄Gangs/Groups of violent youths► attack me and force me to run away;
13They prevent me from escaping,
14It is as though I am a city wall and [SIM] they have broken through the wall,
15I am very terrified;
16“And now I [SYN] am about to die [IDM];
17My bones ache during the night,
18It is as though God seizes my clothes
19He has thrown me into the mud;
20“I cry out to God, but he does not answer/help me;
21He acts very cruelly toward me;
22He allows the wind to lift me up and blow me away,
23I know that he will cause me to die,
24“When people experience disasters,
25That is what I did previously. I wept for people who were experiencing troubles,
26But when I expected good things to happen to me, evil things happened;
27I am very distressed [IDM], all the time;
28I go about very discouraged;
29My wailing sounds as sad as [MET] the cries of jackals/foxes and ostriches.
30My skin has become dark/black and is peeling off,
31Previously, I played joyful music on my harp and with my flute,