| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? | 1Isn't mankind consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? |
| 2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages. | 2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired man he waits for his pay. |
| 3So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed me. | 3So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. |
| 4When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. | 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 worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering. | 5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt. My skin forms scabs and then oozes. |
| 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. | 6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. |
| 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness. | 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. |
| 8The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more. | 8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. |
| 9As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. | 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. |
| 10He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more. | 10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. |
| 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. | 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 sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard? | 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that You keep me under guard? |
| 13When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, | 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, | 14then You frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, |
| 15so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body. | 15so that I prefer strangling-- death rather than life in this body. |
| 16I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath. | 16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. |
| 17What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him, | 17What is man, that You think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? |
| 18that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment? | 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. |
| 19Will You never look away from me, or leave me alone to swallow my spittle? | 19Will You ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? |
| 20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You? | 20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I have become a burden to You? |
| 21Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.” | 21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my transgression? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone. |
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