19. He throws me into the mud,and I have become like dust and ashes.
20. I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21. You have turned against me with cruelty;You harass me with Your strong hand.
22. You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;You scatter me in the storm.
23. Yes, I know that You will lead me to death —the place appointed for all who live.
24. Yet no one would stretch out his handagainst a ruined man when he cries out to him for helpbecause of his distress.
25. Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
26. But when I hoped for good, evil came;when I looked for light, darkness came.
27. I am churning within and cannot rest;days of suffering confront me.
28. I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
29. I have become a brother to jackalsand a companion of ostriches.
30. My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever.
31. My lyre is used for mourningand my flute for the sound of weeping.