| Berean Standard Bible | English Standard Version |  
 | 1“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul. | 1“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. |   
| 2I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me. | 2I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me. |   
| 3Does it please You to oppress me, to reject the work of Your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked? | 3Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked? |   
| 4Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as man sees? | 4Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees? |   
| 5Are Your days like those of a mortal, or Your years like those of a man, | 5Are your days as the days of man, or your years as a man’s years, |   
| 6that You should seek my iniquity and search out my sin— | 6that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin, |   
| 7though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand? | 7although you know that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of your hand? |   
| 8Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. Would You now turn and destroy me? | 8Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. |   
| 9Please remember that You molded me like clay. Would You now return me to dust? | 9Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? |   
| 10Did You not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese? | 10Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? |   
| 11You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. | 11You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. |   
| 12You have granted me life and loving devotion, and Your care has preserved my spirit. | 12You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. |   
| 13Yet You concealed these things in Your heart, and I know that this was in Your mind: | 13Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know that this was your purpose. |   
| 14If I sinned, You would take note, and would not acquit me of my iniquity. | 14If I sin, you watch me and do not acquit me of my iniquity. |   
| 15If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction. | 15If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction. |   
| 16Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me. | 16And were my head lifted up, you would hunt me like a lion and again work wonders against me. |   
| 17You produce new witnesses against me and multiply Your anger toward me. Hardships assault me in wave after wave. | 17You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me. |   
| 18Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! | 18“Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me |   
| 19If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave. | 19and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave. |   
| 20Are my days not few? Withdraw from me, that I may have a little comfort, | 20Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer |   
| 21before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom, | 21before I go—and I shall not return— to the land of darkness and deep shadow, |   
| 22to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.” | 22the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.” |  
 | This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers.  Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited.  All rights reserved. |  
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