Possible meanings are 1) the author speaks of God causing bad things to happen to him as if he were a city and God was an enemy that built up siege works against him. AT: "God attacked me like an enemy army that sets up siege works around a city" or 2) the author speaks of God causing the enemy army to attack Jerusalem as if God were the enemy. AT: "God caused the enemy army to build up siege works against me" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
This represents God causing him to experience much bitterness and hardship. AT: "caused me to experience much bitterness and hardship" or "caused me to suffer and have many problems" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# bitterness
Here "bitterness" represents suffering. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# He made me live in dark places, like those who died long ago
Here "dark places" is a metaphor for suffering. The author compares the intensity of his suffering to the intensity of the darkness that those who died long ago experience. AT: "The suffering that he causes me is intense like the darkness of the grave" or "He makes me suffer terribly, as if I were in the darkness of those who died long ago" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])
# He built a wall around me and I cannot escape. He made my chains heavy
This represents the continuing suffering. Like a person who cannot escape from prison, the author cannot make his suffering stop. AT: "My suffering continues. It is as though he has built a wall around me and put heavy chains on me, and I cannot escape" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# he shut out my prayer
The author speaks about God refusing to listen to his prayers as though God was shutting his ears so that the author's prayers could not go into them. AT: "he refuses to hear my prayer" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]])
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