| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. | 1"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. |
| 2I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. | 2I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. |
| 3Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? | 3Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? |
| 4Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? | 4Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? |
| 5Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, | 5Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, |
| 6That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? | 6that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin-- |
| 7Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand. | 7though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand? |
| 8Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. | 8"Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? |
| 9Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? | 9Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? |
| 10Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? | 10Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, |
| 11Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. | 11clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? |
| 12Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. | 12You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. |
| 13And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. | 13"But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind: |
| 14If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. | 14If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. |
| 15If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; | 15If I am guilty--woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. |
| 16For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. | 16If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me. |
| 17Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. | 17You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave. |
| 18Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! | 18"Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. |
| 19I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. | 19If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! |
| 20Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, | 20Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy |
| 21Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; | 21before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, |
| 22A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness. | 22to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness." |
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