| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1“Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? | 1Isn't mankind consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? |
| 2Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, | 2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired man he waits for his pay. |
| 3So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. | 3So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. |
| 4When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. | 4When I lie down I think: When will I get up? But the evening drags on endlessly, and I toss and turn until dawn. |
| 5My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh. | 5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt. My skin forms scabs and then oozes. |
| 6“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. | 6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. |
| 7Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. | 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. |
| 8The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. | 8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. |
| 9As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. | 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. |
| 10He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore. | 10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. |
| 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. | 11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. |
| 12Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? | 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that You keep me under guard? |
| 13When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ | 13When I say: My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint, |
| 14Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, | 14then You frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, |
| 15So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. | 15so that I prefer strangling-- death rather than life in this body. |
| 16I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. | 16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. |
| 17“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, | 17What is man, that You think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? |
| 18That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? | 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. |
| 19How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? | 19Will You ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? |
| 20Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? | 20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I have become a burden to You? |
| 21Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.” | 21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my transgression? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone. |
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