1<> From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me––let Israel now say––
2from my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never been able to finish me off.
3My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4But the LORD is good; he has cut the cords used by the ungodly to bind me.
5May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
6May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
7ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
8And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: "The LORD’s blessings be upon you; we bless you in the LORD’s name."