1 “ 7:1Lit Has not man compulsory labor Is not man conscripted to labor on earth,Andare nothis days like the days of a hired man?
2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,And as a hired man who eagerly hopes for his wages,
3 So am I apportioned months of worthlessness,And nights of trouble are appointed me.
4 “If I lie down I say,‘When shall I arise?’But the twilight continues,And I am saturated with tossing until dawn.
5 “My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt;My skin scabs over and flowsout again.
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,And come to an end without hope.
7 ¶“Remember that my life isbutwind;My eye will not again see good.
8 “The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;Your eyeswill beon me, but I will not be.
9 “A cloud vanishes, and it is gone,So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.
10 “He will not return again to his house,Nor will his place recognize him anymore.
11 ¶“Indeed I will not hold back my mouth;I will speak in the distress of my spirit;I will muse on the bitterness of my soul.
12 “Am I the sea or the sea monster,That You set a guard over me?
13 “If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me;My couch will 7:13Lit bear ease mybittermusing,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreamsAnd terrify me by visions,
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,Death rather than my 7:15 Lit bones pains.
16 “I have rejectedeverything; I will not live forever.Leave me alone, for my days arebuta breath.
17 “What is man that You magnify him,And that You set Your heart on him,
18 That You 7:18 Or care for, cf. Ps 8:4 examine him every morningAnd test him every moment?
19 “ 7:19 Lit How long will You not Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,Nor let me alone until I swallow my spit?
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 forgive my transgressionAnd take away my iniquity?For now I will lie down in the dust;And You will seek me earnestly, but I will not be.”