1 "Does not man have hard service on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired man? |
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, |
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me. |
4 When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?'
The night drags on, and I toss till dawn. |
5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering. |
6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope. |
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never see happiness again. |
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more. |
9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
so he who goes down to the grave1 7:9 Hebrew Sheol does not return. |
10 He will never come to his house again;
his place will know him no more. |
11 "Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. |
12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you put me under guard? |
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint, |
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions, |
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,
rather than this body of mine. |
16 I despise my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone; my days have no meaning. |
17 "What is man that you make so much of him,
that you give him so much attention, |
18 that you examine him every morning
and test him every moment? |
19 Will you never look away from me,
or let me alone even for an instant? |
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of men?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a burden to you?2 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself . |
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?
For I will soon lie down in the dust;
you will search for me, but I will be no more." |
