| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1“Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand? | 1"Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? |
| 2Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, | 2Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, |
| 3so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. | 3so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. |
| 4When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. | 4When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?' The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. |
| 5My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh. | 5My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. |
| 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and come to their end without hope. | 6"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. |
| 7“Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good. | 7Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. |
| 8The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone. | 8The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. |
| 9As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up; | 9As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. |
| 10he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore. | 10He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more. |
| 11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. | 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. |
| 12Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me? | 12Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? |
| 13When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,’ | 13When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, |
| 14then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, | 14even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, |
| 15so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones. | 15so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. |
| 16I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. | 16I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. |
| 17What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, | 17"What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, |
| 18visit him every morning and test him every moment? | 18that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? |
| 19How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit? | 19Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? |
| 20If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? | 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? |
| 21Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.” | 21Why 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." |
| 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. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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