³ “You must defend my innocence, O God,
    since no one else will stand up for me.
⁴ You have closed their minds to understanding,
    but do not let them triumph.
⁵ They betray their friends for their own advantage,
    so let their children faint with hunger.

⁶ “God has made a mockery of me among the people;
    they spit in my face.
⁷ My eyes are swollen with weeping,
    and I am but a shadow of my former self.
⁸ The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
    The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
⁹ The righteous keep moving forward,
    and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
    though I still won’t find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My days are over.
    My hopes have disappeared.
    My heart’s desires are broken.
¹² These men say that night is day;
    they claim that the darkness is light.
¹³ What if I go to the grave^[a]
    and make my bed in darkness?
¹⁴ What if I call the grave my father,
    and the maggot my mother or my sister?
¹⁵ Where then is my hope?
    Can anyone find it?
¹⁶ No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
    We will rest together in the dust!”