[1] "Is there not a time of hard service for a man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired worker? [2] Like a servant, he longs for the shade, and like a hired worker, he looks for his wages, [3] so I have been assigned months of futility, and nights of trouble have been appointed to me. [4] When I lie down, I say, 'When will I arise and the night be ended?' And I am full of restlessness until the dawn. [5] My flesh is covered with worms and caked with dirt; my skin is broken, and has become loathsome. [6] "My days fly more swiftly 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 behold me no more; your eyes will be on me, but I will be no more. [9] As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more. [10] He will never return to his house, and his place will not recognize 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 the sea, or a sea monster, 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, even death rather than my life. [16] I loathe my life; I would not live forever; let me alone, for my days are emptiness. [17] "What is man, that You should exalt him, and that You should set Your heart on him, [18] and that You should visit him every morning, and test him every moment? [19] How long until You look away from me? Will You not let me alone until I swallow my saliva? [20] Have I sinned? What am I doing to You, O You watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, so that I am a burden to myself? [21] And why 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 not be."
