| New Living Translation | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! | 1Man born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. |
| 2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. | 2He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last. |
| 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me? | 3Do You really take notice of one like this? Will You bring me into judgment against You? |
| 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one! | 4Who can produce something pure from what is impure? No one! |
| 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer. | 5Since man's days are determined and the number of his months depends on You, and since You have set limits he cannot pass, |
| 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace. | 6look away from him and let him rest so that he can enjoy his day like a hired hand. |
| 7“Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches. | 7There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. |
| 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays, | 8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, |
| 9at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling. | 9the smell of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. |
| 10“But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they? | 10But a man dies and fades away; he breathes his last--where is he? |
| 11As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought, | 11As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, |
| 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. | 12so man lies down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep. |
| 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! | 13If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger passes. If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me. |
| 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. | 14When a man dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes. |
| 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. | 15You would call, and I would answer You. You would long for the work of Your hands. |
| 16For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins. | 16For then You would count my steps but would not take note of my sin. |
| 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt. | 17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity. |
| 18“But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff, | 18But as a mountain collapses and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place, |
| 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people’s hope. | 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so You destroy a man's hope. |
| 20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away. | 20You completely overpower him, and he passes on; You change his appearance and send him away. |
| 21They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance. | 21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. |
| 22They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble.” | 22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself. |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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