| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. | 1“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! |
| 2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. | 2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. |
| 3And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? | 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? |
| 4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. | 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! |
| 5Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; | 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. |
| 6Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. | 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace. |
| 7For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. | 7“Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches. |
| 8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; | 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, |
| 9Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. | 9at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling. |
| 10But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? | 10“But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they? |
| 11As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: | 11As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, |
| 12So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. | 12people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep. |
| 13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! | 13“I wish you would hide me in the grave and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again! |
| 14If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. | 14Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death. |
| 15Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. | 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. |
| 16For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? | 16For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins. |
| 17My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. | 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt. |
| 18And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. | 18“But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff, |
| 19The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. | 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope. |
| 20Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. | 20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away. |
| 21His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. | 21They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance. |
| 22But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. | 22They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble.” |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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