1 Lord, don’t criticize me in anger. Don’t discipline me in anger. 2 Lord, you have hurt me. Your arrows went deep into me. 3 You punished me. Now my whole body is sore. I sinned, ˻and you punished me˼. So all my bones hurt. 4 I am guilty of doing bad things. And that guilt is like a heavy weight. ˻I am too ashamed˼ to hold my head up. 5 I did a foolish thing. Now I have infected sores that stink. 6 I am bent and bowed down. I am depressed all day long. 7 I have a fever, and my whole body hurts. 8 I hurt so much I can’t feel anything. My pounding heart makes me scream! 9 My Master, you heard my groaning. My sighs are not hidden from you. 10 My heart is pounding. My strength is gone, and I am going blind. 11 Because of my sickness, my friends and neighbors will not visit me. My family will not come near me. 12 My enemies say bad things about me. They are spreading lies and rumors. They talk about me all the time. 13 But I am like a deaf person that cannot hear. I am like a mute person that cannot speak. 14 I am like a person that cannot hear what people are saying about him. I cannot argue and prove that my enemies are wrong. 15 So, Lord, you must defend me. God my Master, you must speak for me. 16 If I say anything, then my enemies will laugh at me. They will see I am sick and say that I am being punished for doing wrong. 17 I know I am guilty of doing wrong things. I cannot forget my pain. 18 Lord, I told you about the bad things I did. I am sad about my sins. 19 My enemies are alive and healthy. And they have told many, many lies. 20 My enemies do bad things to me, and I did only good things to them. I tried to do only good things, but those people turned against me. 21 Lord, don’t leave me! My God, stay close to me! 22 Quickly come and help me! My God, save me!
