7 “Man has a hard task on earth.
    His days are like those of a hired man.
² Man is like a slave wishing for the evening shadows.
    Or he is like a hired man who wants his pay.
³ But I am given months that are empty.
    Nights of misery have been given to me.
⁴ When I lie down, I think, ‘How long is it until I get up?’
    The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
⁵ My body is covered with worms and scabs.
    My skin is broken and full of running sores.

⁶ “My days go by faster than a weaver moves his tool.
    And they come to an end without hope.
⁷ Remember, God, that my life is only as long as a breath.
    My eyes will never see happy times again.
⁸ Those who see me now will see me no more.
    You will look for me, but I will be gone.
⁹ A cloud disappears and is gone.
    In the same way, a person who goes where the dead are does not return.
¹⁰ He will never come back to his house again.
    His place will not know him anymore.

¹¹ “So I will not stay quiet.
    I will speak out in the suffering of my spirit.
    I will complain because I am so unhappy.
¹² I am not the sea or the sea monster.
    So why have you set a guard over me?
¹³ Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me.
    Or I think my couch will stop my complaint.
¹⁴ Then you frighten me with dreams.
    You terrify me with visions.
¹⁵ My throat prefers to be choked.
    My bones welcome death.
¹⁶ I hate my life. I don’t want to live forever.
    Let me alone. My days have no meaning.

¹⁷ “Why do you make man so important?
    Why do you give him so much attention?
¹⁸ Will you examine him every morning?
    Why do you test him every moment?
¹⁹ Will you never look away from me?
    Will you not let me alone even long enough to swallow?
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    you watcher of men?
Why have you made me your target?
    Have I become a heavy load for you?
²¹ Why don’t you pardon my wrongs
    and forgive my sins?
I will soon lie down in the dust and die.
    You will search for me, but I will be no more.”