[1] "Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? [2] Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, [3] So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. [4] When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise, And the night be ended?' For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. [5] My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh. [6] "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope. [7] Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. [8] The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. [9] As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. [10] He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore. [11] "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. [12] Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? [13] When I say, 'My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,' [14] Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, [15] So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. [16] I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. [17] "What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, [18] That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? [19] How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? [20] Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? [21] Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be."
