1Anyone born of woman

is short of days and full of trouble.a

2He blossoms like a flower, then withers;a

he flees like a shadow and does not last.

3Do you really take notice of one like this?

Will you bring me into judgment against you?a a

4Who can produce something pure from what is impure?

No one!

5Since a person’s days are determined

and the number of his months depends on you,

and since you have setA limits he cannot pass,a

6look away from him and let him rest

so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker.a

7There is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its shoots will not die.

8If its roots grow old in the ground

and its stump starts to die in the soil,

9the scent of water makes it thrive

and produce twigs like a sapling.a

10But a person dies and fades away;

he breathes his last — where is he?

11As water disappears from a lake

and a river becomes parched and dry,

12so people lie down never to rise again.

They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;a

they will not stir from their sleep.

13If only you would hide me in Sheola

and conceal me until your angerb passes.

If only you would appoint a time for me

and then remember me.

14When a person dies, will he come back to life?

If so, I would waita all the days of my struggleb

until my relief comes.

15You would call, and I would answer you.

You would long for the work of your hands.a

16For then you would count my stepsa

but would not take noteb of my sin.

17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,

and you would cover over my iniquity.

18But as a mountain collapses and crumbles

and a rock is dislodged from its place,

19as water wears away stones

and torrents wash away the soil from the land,

so you destroy a man’s hope.a

20You completely overpower him, and he passes on;

you change his appearance and send him away.

21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;

if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.a

22He feels only the pain of his own body

and mourns only for himself.

Second Series of Speeches