13
God has turned relatives and friends against me,
14
and I am forgotten.
15
My guests and my servants consider me a stranger,
16
and when I call my servants, they pay no attention.
17
My breath disgusts my wife; everyone in my family turns away.
18
Young children can't stand me, and when I come near, they make fun.
19
have turned from me.
20
I am skin and bones— just barely alive.
21
My friends, I beg you for pity! God has made me his target.
22
Hasn't he already done enough? Why do you join the attack?
23
I wish that my words could be written down
24
or chiseled into rock.
25
I know that my Protector and at the end he will stand on this earth.
26
My flesh may be destroyed, yet from this body I will see God.
27
Yes, I will see him for myself, and I long for that moment.
28
My friends, you think up ways to blame and torment me, saying I brought it on myself.
29
But watch out for the judgment, when God will punish you!
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version ®. Copyright © 1995 American Bible Society. Used by permission.