1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.

2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.

3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.

4 He has aged ^amy flesh and my skin,
And ^bbroken my bones. ‡

5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and¹ woe. ‡

6 ^aHe has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago. ‡

7 ^aHe has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy. ‡

8 Even ^awhen I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer. ‡

9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.

10 ^aHe has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in¹ ambush. ‡

11 He has turned aside my ways and ^atorn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate. ‡

12 He has bent His bow
And ^aset me up as a target for the arrow. ‡

13 He has caused ^athe arrows of His quiver
To pierce my¹ loins. ‡

14 I have become the ^aridicule of all my people—
^bTheir taunting song all the day. ‡

15 ^aHe has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood. ‡

16 He has also broken my teeth ^awith gravel,
And¹ covered me with ashes. ‡

17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten¹ prosperity. ‡

18 ^aAnd I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.” ‡

19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
^aThe wormwood and the¹ gall. ‡

20 My soul still remembers
And¹ sinks within me. ‡

21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have ^ahope. ‡

22 ^aThrough the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions ^bfail not. ‡

23 They are new ^aevery morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. ‡

24 “The Lord is my ^aportion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I ^bhope in Him!” ‡

25 The Lord is good to those who ^await for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him. ‡

26 It is good that one should ^ahope ^band wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord. ‡

27 ^aIt is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth. ‡

28 ^aLet him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him; ‡

29 ^aLet him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope. ‡

30 ^aLet him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach. ‡

31 ^aFor the Lord will not cast off forever. ‡

32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.

33 For ^aHe does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men. ‡