Are not his days like those of a hired worker?
2Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired worker he waits for his pay.
3So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
4When I lie down I think,
“When will I get up?”
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.
5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.7:5 Or and dirty scabs
6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
7Remember that my life is but a breath.
8The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
9As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
10He will never return to his house;
11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
that you keep me under guard?
13When I say, “My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,”
14then you frighten me with dreams,
15so that I prefer strangling7:15 Or suffocation —
16I give up! I will not live forever.
17What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him
18You inspect him every morning,
19Will you ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?7:19 Lit swallow my saliva?
20If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
Watcher of humanity?
so that I have become a burden to you?7:20 Alt Hb tradition, LXX; MT, Vg read myself
21Why not forgive my sin
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