| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? | 1"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man? |
| 2Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, | 2Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages, |
| 3So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. | 3thus I have been made to inherit months of futility, and nights of sorrow have been appointed to me. |
| 4When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. | 4If I lie down, I say, 'When will I arise?', and the night stretches on and I toss and turn restlessly until the day dawns. |
| 5My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh. | 5My body is clothed with worms and dirty scabs; my skin is broken and festering. |
| 6“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. | 6My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle and they come to an end without hope. |
| 7Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. | 7Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness. |
| 8The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. | 8The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. |
| 9As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. | 9As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again. |
| 10He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore. | 10He returns no more to his house, nor does his place of residence know him any more. |
| 11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. | 11"Therefore, I will not refrain 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 sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? | 12Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard? |
| 13When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ | 13If I say, "My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint," |
| 14Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, | 14then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, |
| 15So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. | 15so that I would prefer strangling, and death more than life. |
| 16I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. | 16I loathe it; I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, for my days are a vapor! |
| 17“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, | 17"What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them? |
| 18That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? | 18And that you visit them every morning, and try them every moment? |
| 19How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? | 19Will you never look away from me, will you not let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle? |
| 20Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? | 20If I have sinned--what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you set me as your target? Have I become a burden to you? |
| 21Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.” | 21And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will seek me diligently, but I will be gone." |
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