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Chapter 7

(A)Is not life on earth a drudgery,[a]
    its days like those of a hireling?
Like a slave who longs for the shade,
    a hireling who waits for wages,
So I have been assigned months of futility,
    and troubled nights have been counted off for me.
When I lie down I say, “When shall I arise?”
    then the night drags on;
    I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.

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Footnotes

  1. 7:1 Drudgery: taken by some to refer to military service; cf. also 14:14.

“Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(H)

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Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

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My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;
    they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;(A)
    my eye will not see happiness again.

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“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(A)
    and they come to an end without hope.(B)
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(C)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.(D)

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My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.

O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

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