- 1
- Hath not man a life of labour upon earth?
and are not his days like the days of a hireling?
- 2
- As a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages,
- 3
- So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
- 4
- If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone?
and I am full of tossings until the dawn.
- 5
- My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;
my skin is broken, and suppurates.
- 6
- My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
- 7
- Remember thou that my life is wind;
mine eye shall no more see good.
- 8
- The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no [more]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
- 9
- The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away;
so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up.
- 10
- He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him again.
- 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-monster, that thou settest a watch over me?
- 13
- When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
- 14
- Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions;
- 15
- So that my soul chooseth strangling, death, rather than my bones.
- 16
- I loathe it;
I shall not live always: let me alone, for my days are a breath.
- 17
- What is man, that thou makest much of him?
and that thou settest thy heart upon him?
- 18
- And that thou visitest him every morning, triest him every moment?
- 19
- How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
- 20
- Have I sinned, what do I unto thee, thou Observer of men?
Why hast thou set me as an object of assault for thee, so that I am become a burden to myself?
- 21
- And why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity?
for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.
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