Aa
1Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor7:1 Jb 14:14; Is 40:2 on earth?
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,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.7:3 Jb 30:17; Ps 6:6; 42:3
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
My skin forms scabs7:5 Lit skin hardens and then oozes.7:5 Dt 28:35; Ps 38:5; Is 1:6

6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.7:6 Jb 14:19; 17:15; 19:10
7Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.7:7 Jb 9:25; Ps 78:39; Jms 4:14
8The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.7:8 Jb 7:21; 20:9; Ps 37:36
9As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol7:9 Jb 11:8; 14:13; 17:13,16 will never rise again.
10He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember7:10 Lit know him.7:10 Jb 8:18; 20:9; Ps 103:16

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.
12Am I the sea7:12 Or the sea god7:12 Jb 26:12; Ps 74:13 or a sea monster,7:12 Ps 148:7; Is 27:1; Ezk 32:2
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,
and terrify me with visions,7:14 Jb 4:13; 20:8; 33:15
15so that I prefer strangling7:15 Or suffocation —
death rather than life in this body.7:15 Lit than my bones7:15 1Kg 19:4; Jb 3:21; Jnh 4:3
16I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone,7:16 Jb 7:19; 10:20; Ps 39:13 for my days are a breath.7:16 Or are futile

17What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?7:17 Ps 8:4; 144:3; Heb 2:6
18You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.7:18 Ps 17:3; 73:14; 139:23
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?
Why have you made me your target,7:20 Jb 16:12; Lm 3:12
so that I have become a burden to you?7:20 Alt Hb tradition, LXX; MT, Vg read myself
21Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my iniquity?7:21 Jb 11:6; 13:23; 15:5
For soon I will lie down in the grave.7:21 Jb 17:16; 20:11; Is 26:19
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.7:21 Jb 3:13; 7:8; Ps 37:36