7:1 “Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man?
7:2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,
7:3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
7:4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
7:5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.
7:6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.
7:7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.
7:8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more.
7:9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return.
7:10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.
7:11 “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
7:12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard?
7:13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
7:14 even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
7:15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.
7:16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.
7:17 “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,
7:18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?
7:19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?
7:20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?
7:21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”
7:1 Does not man have a term of hard service on earth? / And are his days not like the days of a hired hand?
7:2 Like a servant who longs for the shade, / And like a hired hand who waits for his pay,
7:3 So I am made to inherit months of vanity, / And nights of trouble are appointed to me.
7:4 If I lie down, I say, / When will I arise? But the evening is long, / And I am full of tossings until the dawn.
7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt clods; / My skin crusts and then oozes again.
7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle / And are spent without hope.
7:7 Remember that my life is a breath; / My eye will not see good again.
7:8 The eye of him who sees me will not look on me; / Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
7:9 The cloud is consumed and goes away: / Likewise he who goes down into Sheol does not come up.
7:10 He returns no more to his house, / Nor does his place know him anymore.
7:11 For my part, I also will not restrain my mouth; / I will speak in the distress of my spirit; / I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
7:12 Am I the sea, or a sea serpent, / That You must set a watch over me?
7:13 When I say, My bed will comfort me, / My couch will bear up my complaint;
7:14 Then You scare me with dreams / And terrify me with visions,
7:15 So that my soul would choose strangulation / And death rather than my bones.
7:16 I loathe life; I would not live forever. / Leave me alone, for my days are a mere breath.
7:17 What is mortal man that You magnify him, / And that You consider him,
7:18 And that You visit him every morning, / You try him every moment?
7:19 How long before You look away from me, / Before You abandon me until I swallow my spittle?
7:20 If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O Watcher of man? / Why have You made me Your target so that I have become a burden to You?
7:21 And why do You not forgive my transgression / And take away my iniquity? / For now I may lie down in the dust; / And You will seek me out, and I will not be.