“When my food is in front of me, I sigh. I pour out my groaning like water.
“Now my life is pouring out of me. Days of suffering seize me.
so that their whole being hates food and they lose their appetite for a delicious meal.
I refuse to touch such things. They are disgusting to me.
Why don’t you stop looking at me long enough to let me swallow my spit?
I eat ashes like bread and my tears are mixed with my drink
When I kept silent ⌞about my sins⌟, my bones began to weaken because of my groaning all day long.
I am numb and completely devastated. I roar because my heart’s in turmoil.
You made them eat tears as food. You often made them drink ⌞their own⌟ tears.
We all growl like bears. We coo like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none. We hope for salvation, but it’s far from us.
Even when I cry and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
So the Israelites gathered together at Mizpah. They drew some water, poured it out in front of the Lord, and fasted that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged Israel in Mizpah.