⁷ “Remember that my life is a ^(N)breath;
    my eye will never again see good.
^8 (O)The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
    while your eyes are on me, ^(P)I shall be gone.
⁹ As ^(Q)the cloud fades and vanishes,
    so he who ^(R)goes down to Sheol does not come up;
¹⁰ he ^(S)returns no more to his house,
    nor does his ^(T)place know him anymore.

¹¹ “Therefore I will not ^(U)restrain my mouth;
    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
    I will ^(V)complain in ^(W)the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I the sea, or ^(X)a sea monster,
    that you set a guard over me?
^13 (Y)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 I would choose strangling
    and death rather than my ^(Z)bones.
¹⁶ I ^(AA)loathe my life; I would not live forever.
    ^(AB)Leave me alone, for my days are ^(AC)a breath.
^17 (AD)What is man, that you make so much of him,
    and that you set your heart on him,
^18 (AE)visit him every morning
    and ^(AF)test him every moment?
¹⁹ How long will you not ^(AG)look away from me,
    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
²⁰ If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
    Why have you made me ^(AH)your mark?
    Why have I become a burden to you?
²¹ Why do you not pardon my transgression
    and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in ^(AI)the earth;
    you will ^(AJ)seek me, ^(AK)but I shall not be.”

² “How long will you say these things,
    and the words of your mouth be a ^(AM)great wind?
^3 (AN)Does God pervert justice?
    Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
⁴ If your ^(AO)children have sinned against him,
    he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
⁵ If you will seek God
    and ^(AP)plead with the Almighty for mercy,
⁶ if you are pure and upright,
    surely then he will ^(AQ)rouse himself for you
    and ^(AR)restore your rightful habitation.
⁷ And though your beginning was small,
    ^(AS)your latter days will be very great.

⁸ “For ^(AT)inquire, please, of bygone ages,
    and consider what ^(AU)the fathers have searched out.
⁹ For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
    for our days on earth are ^(AV)a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you
    and utter words out of their understanding?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
    Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
¹² While yet in flower and not cut down,
    they ^(AW)wither before any other plant.
¹³ Such are the paths of all who ^(AX)forget God;
    ^(AY)the hope of ^(AZ)the godless shall perish.
¹⁴ His confidence is severed,
    and his trust is ^(BA)a spider's web.^[a]
15 He leans against his ^(BB)house, but it does not stand;
    he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶ He is a lush plant before the sun,
    and his ^(BC)shoots spread over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots entwine the stone heap;
    he looks upon a house of stones.
¹⁸ If he is destroyed from his ^(BD)place,
    then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never ^(BE)seen you.’
¹⁹ Behold, this is the joy of his way,
    and out of ^(BF)the soil others will spring.

²⁰ “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
    nor take the hand of evildoers.
²¹ He will yet ^(BG)fill your mouth with laughter,
    and your lips with shouting.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(BH)clothed with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(H)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have ^(I)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(J)a net;^[a]
    beside the way they have set ^(K)snares for me. Selah

^6 (L)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(M)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, ^(N)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
^8 (O)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[b] evil plot, or ^(P)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹ As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(Q)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let ^(R)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹² I know that the Lord will ^(S)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and ^(T)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely ^(U)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    ^(V)the upright shall dwell in your presence.