My enemies say, “You are nothing!” Even my friends and neighbors hold me in contempt! They dread seeing me, and they look the other way when I pass by.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of deep sorrows who was no stranger to suffering and grief. We hid our faces from him in disgust and considered him a nobody, not worthy of respect.
I offered my back to those who flogged me and my cheek to those who tore out my beard. I never hid my face from demeaning insults or from those who spit on me.
Yet he was the one who carried our sicknesses and endured the torment of our sufferings. We viewed him as one who was being punished for something he himself had done, as one who was struck down by God and brought low.
Then I said, “Yahweh, you understand everything perfectly. Remember me and act on my behalf. Pay back all those who persecute me. Do not be so patient with my enemies; take revenge on them before they kill me. It is for your sake that I suffer insult after insult.