| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? | 1Isn't mankind consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? |
| 2As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: | 2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired man he waits for his pay. |
| 3So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. | 3So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. |
| 4When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. | 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 clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. | 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, and are spent without hope. | 6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. |
| 7O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. | 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. |
| 8The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. | 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 the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. | 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. |
| 10He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. | 10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. |
| 11Therefore I will not refrain 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 a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? | 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that You keep me under guard? |
| 13When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; | 13When I say: My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint, |
| 14Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: | 14then You frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, |
| 15So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. | 15so that I prefer strangling-- death rather than life in this body. |
| 16I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity. | 16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. |
| 17What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? | 17What is man, that You think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? |
| 18And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? | 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. |
| 19How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? | 19Will You ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? |
| 20I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? | 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? |
| 21And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. | 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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