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2 As a slave earnestly desires the shade,
or as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down I think,
‘When shall I rise?’,
but the night continues on,
and I toss and turn until the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dust,
my skin is broken and festering.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuffle,
and have come to an end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never see anything good again.
8 The eyes of one who now sees me shall see me no more;
your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back.
10 He will never return to his house,
nor will his place know him anymore.
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.
12 Am I the sea, or the serpent of the sea,
that You keep me under guard?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint’,
14 then You scare me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that my soul would choose strangling,
and death rather than life.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone, for my days are but a breath.
17 “What is man that You exalt him so highly,
that You set Your heart upon him,
18 that You should attend to him every morning,
and test him every moment?
19 Will You never look away from me,
nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 If I have sinned,
what have I done to You, O Watcher of man?
Why have You set me as Your target,
so that I am a burden to You?
21 Why do You not pardon my transgression,
and take away my iniquity?
For soon I shall sleep in the dust;
You will seek me, but I will be no more.”