15. Then I said,“lord, you know what’s happening to me.Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors!Please give me time; don’t let me die young.It’s for your sake that I am suffering.
16. When I discovered your words, I devoured them.They are my joy and my heart’s delight,for I bear your name,O lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
17. I never joined the people in their merry feasts.I sat alone because your hand was on me.I was filled with indignation at their sins.
18. Why then does my suffering continue?Why is my wound so incurable?Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,like a spring that has gone dry.”