| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. | 1Man born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. |
| 2They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure. | 2He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last. |
| 3Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them before you for judgment? | 3Do You really take notice of one like this? Will You bring me into judgment against You? |
| 4Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! | 4Who can produce something pure from what is impure? No one! |
| 5A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. | 5Since man's days are determined and the number of his months depends on You, and since You have set limits he cannot pass, |
| 6So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer. | 6look away from him and let him rest so that he can enjoy his day like a hired hand. |
| 7"At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. | 7There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die. |
| 8Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, | 8If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump starts to die in the soil, |
| 9yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. | 9the smell of water makes it thrive and produce twigs like a sapling. |
| 10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. | 10But a man dies and fades away; he breathes his last--where is he? |
| 11As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, | 11As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, |
| 12so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep. | 12so man lies down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep. |
| 13"If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! | 13If only You would hide me in Sheol and conceal me until Your anger passes. If only You would appoint a time for me and then remember me. |
| 14If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. | 14When a man dies, will he come back to life? If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes. |
| 15You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. | 15You would call, and I would answer You. You would long for the work of Your hands. |
| 16Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. | 16For then You would count my steps but would not take note of my sin. |
| 17My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin. | 17My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity. |
| 18"But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place, | 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, so you destroy a person's hope. | 19as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil from the land, so You destroy a man's hope. |
| 20You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away. | 20You completely overpower him, and he passes on; You change his appearance and send him away. |
| 21If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it. | 21If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. |
| 22They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves." | 22He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself. |
| 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. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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