7 “Do not mortals have hard service^(A) on earth?^(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?^(C)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,^(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,^(E)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.^(F)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’^(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.^(H)
5 My body is clothed with worms^(I) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.^(J)

⁶ “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,^(K)
    and they come to an end without hope.^(L)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;^(M)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.^(N)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.^(O)
9 As a cloud vanishes^(P) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave^(Q) does not return.^(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place^(S) will know him no more.^(T)

¹¹ “Therefore I will not keep silent;^(U)
    I will speak out in the anguish^(V) of my spirit,
    I will complain^(W) in the bitterness of my soul.^(X)
12 Am I the sea,^(Y) or the monster of the deep,^(Z)
    that you put me under guard?^(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,^(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify^(AC) me with visions,^(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,^(AE)
    rather than this body of mine.^(AF)
16 I despise my life;^(AG) I would not live forever.^(AH)
    Let me alone;^(AI) my days have no meaning.^(AJ)

¹⁷ “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,^(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning^(AL)
    and test them^(AM) every moment?^(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,^(AO)
    or let me alone even for an instant?^(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,^(AQ)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?^(AR)
    Have I become a burden to you?^[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?^(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;^(AU)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”^(AV)

² “How long will you say such things?^(AX)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(AY)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(AZ)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(BA)
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(BB)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(BC) with the Almighty,^(BD)
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(BE)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(BF)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(BG) will your future be.^(BH)

⁸ “Ask the former generation^(BI)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(BJ)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(BK)
10 Will they not instruct^(BL) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(BM)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(BN)
    Can reeds^(BO) thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(BP)
13 Such is the destiny^(BQ) of all who forget God;^(BR)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(BS)
14 What they trust in is fragile^[b];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(BT)
15 They lean on the web,^(BU) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(BV)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(BW) over the garden;^(BX)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(BY) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(BZ)
19 Surely its life withers^(CA) away,
    and^[c] from the soil other plants grow.^(CB)

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(CC)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(CD)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(CE)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(CF)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(CG)
    and the tents^(CH) of the wicked will be no more.”^(CI)

² “Indeed, I know that this is true.
    But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?^(CJ)
3 Though they wished to dispute with him,^(CK)
    they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.^(CL)
4 His wisdom^(CM) is profound, his power is vast.^(CN)
    Who has resisted^(CO) him and come out unscathed?^(CP)
5 He moves mountains^(CQ) without their knowing it
    and overturns them in his anger.^(CR)
6 He shakes the earth^(CS) from its place
    and makes its pillars tremble.^(CT)
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;^(CU)
    he seals off the light of the stars.^(CV)
8 He alone stretches out the heavens^(CW)
    and treads on the waves of the sea.^(CX)
9 He is the Maker^(CY) of the Bear^[d] and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.^(CZ)
10 He performs wonders^(DA) that cannot be fathomed,
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(DB)
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
    when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.^(DC)
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?^(DD)
    Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’^(DE)
13 God does not restrain his anger;^(DF)
    even the cohorts of Rahab^(DG) cowered at his feet.

¹⁴ “How then can I dispute with him?
    How can I find words to argue with him?^(DH)
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;^(DI)
    I could only plead^(DJ) with my Judge^(DK) for mercy.^(DL)
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I do not believe he would give me a hearing.^(DM)
17 He would crush me^(DN) with a storm^(DO)
    and multiply^(DP) my wounds for no reason.^(DQ)
18 He would not let me catch my breath
    but would overwhelm me with misery.^(DR)
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!^(DS)
    And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him^[e]?^(DT)
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
    if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.^(DU)

²¹ “Although I am blameless,^(DV)
    I have no concern for myself;^(DW)
    I despise my own life.^(DX)
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’^(DY)
23 When a scourge^(DZ) brings sudden death,
    he mocks the despair of the innocent.^(EA)
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,^(EB)
    he blindfolds its judges.^(EC)
    If it is not he, then who is it?^(ED)

²⁵ “My days are swifter than a runner;^(EE)
    they fly away without a glimpse of joy.^(EF)
26 They skim past^(EG) like boats of papyrus,^(EH)
    like eagles swooping down on their prey.^(EI)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,^(EJ)
    I will change my expression, and smile,’
²⁸ I still dread^(EK) all my sufferings,
    for I know you will not hold me innocent.^(EL)
29 Since I am already found guilty,
    why should I struggle in vain?^(EM)
30 Even if I washed myself with soap^(EN)
    and my hands^(EO) with cleansing powder,^(EP)
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit^(EQ)
    so that even my clothes would detest me.^(ER)

³² “He is not a mere mortal^(ES) like me that I might answer him,^(ET)
    that we might confront each other in court.^(EU)
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,^(EV)
    someone to bring us together,^(EW)
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,^(EX)
    so that his terror would frighten me no more.^(EY)
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,^(EZ)
    but as it now stands with me, I cannot.^(FA)