O LORD, my defender, I call to you. Listen to my cry! If you do not answer me, I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.

"What will you gain from my death? What profit from my going to the grave? Are dead people able to praise you? Can they proclaim your unfailing goodness?

Answer me now, LORD! I have lost all hope. Don't hide yourself from me, or I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.

The end of my life is near. I can hardly breathe; there is nothing left for me but the grave.

My bitterness will turn into peace. You save my life from all danger; You forgive all my sins.

No one in the world of the dead can praise you; The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.

I will send you down to the world of the dead to join the people who lived in ancient times. I will make you stay in that underground world among eternal ruins, keeping company with the dead. As a result you will never again be inhabited and take your place in the land of the living.

I went down to the very roots of the mountains, into the land whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O LORD my God, brought me back from the depths alive.

We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead.

Everyone has forgotten me, as though I were dead; I am like something thrown away.

I am poor and needy; I am hurt to the depths of my heart.

My knees are weak from lack of food; I am nothing but skin and bones.

For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose.

For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life.