7 “^[a]Is not man ^(A)conscripted to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of ^(B)a hired man?
² As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly hopes for his wages,
³ So am I apportioned months of worthlessness,
And ^(C)nights of trouble are appointed me.
⁴ If I ^(D)lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the twilight continues,
And I am saturated with tossing until dawn.
⁵ My ^(E)flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt;
My skin scabs over and flows out again.
⁶ My days are ^(F)swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end ^(G)without hope.

⁷ “Remember that my life ^(H)is but wind;
My eye will ^(I)not again see good.
⁸ The ^(J)eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but ^(K)I will not be.
⁹ A ^(L)cloud vanishes, and it is gone,
So ^(M)he who goes down to ^(N)Sheol does not come up.
¹⁰ He will not return again to his house,
Nor will ^(O)his place recognize him anymore.

¹¹ “Indeed ^(P)I will not hold back my mouth;
I will speak in the distress of my spirit;
I will muse on the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I the sea or ^(Q)the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
¹³ If I say, ‘^(R)My bed will comfort me;
My couch will ^[b]ease my bitter musing,’
¹⁴ Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions,
¹⁵ So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my ^[c]pains.
¹⁶ I have ^(S)rejected everything; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, ^(T)for my days are but a breath.
^17 (U)What is man that You magnify him,
And that You set Your heart on him,
¹⁸ That ^(V)You ^[d]examine him every morning
And test him every moment?
^19 [e](W)Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spit?
^20 (X)Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O ^(Y)watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
²¹ Why then ^(Z)do You not forgive my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will ^(AA)lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me earnestly, ^(AB)but I will not be.”