1. I am the gever that hath seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2. He hath driven me away, and brought me into choshech, but not into ohr.
3. Surely against me is He turned; He turneth His yad against me kol hayom.
4. My basar and my ohr (skin) hath He made old; He hath broken my atzmot.
5. He hath set up seigeworks against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6. He hath set me in dark places, like the mesei olam (long dead).
7. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot escape; He hath made my chain heavy.
8. Also when I cry and call out, He shutteth out my tefillah.
9. He hath barred my ways with hewn stone, He hath made my paths crooked.
10. He was unto me like a dov (bear) lying in wait, and like an aryeh in mistarim (hiding places).
11. He hath turned aside the darkhei of mine, and pulled me in pieces; He hath made me desolate.
12. He hath bent His keshet, and set me as a target for the khetz (arrow).