1 “Do not mortals have hard service on earth?

Are not their days like those of hired laborers?

2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,

or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,

3 so I have been allotted months of futility,

and nights of misery have been assigned to me.

4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’

The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.

5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs,

my skin is broken and festering.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

and they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;

my eyes will never see happiness again.

8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;

you will look for me, but I will be no more.

9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone,

so one who goes down to the grave does not return.

10 He will never come to his house again;

his place will know him no more.

1 “Has not man a hard service on earth,

and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?

2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,

and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,

3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,

and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’

But the night is long,

and I am full of tossing till the dawn.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;

my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle

and come to their end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is a breath;

my eye will never again see good.

8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;

while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.

9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,

so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;

10 he returns no more to his house,

nor does his place know him anymore.

1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?

Are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow,

And as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

3 So am I made to possess months of vanity,

And wearisome nights are appointed to me.

4 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.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;

My skin is broken, and become loathsome.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And are spent without hope.

7 O remember that my life is wind:

Mine eye shall no more see good.

8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more:

Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away:

So he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

10 He shall return no more to his house,

Neither shall his place know him any more.

1 “Is not all human life a struggle?

Our lives are like that of a hired hand,

2 like a worker who longs for the shade,

like a servant waiting to be paid.

3 I, too, have been assigned months of futility,

long and weary nights of misery.

4 Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’

But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

5 My body is covered with maggots and scabs.

My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

6 “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.

They end without hope.

7 O God, remember that my life is but a breath,

and I will never again feel happiness.

8 You see me now, but not for long.

You will look for me, but I will be gone.

9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,

those who die will not come back.

10 They are gone forever from their home—

never to be seen again.

1 “Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth?

Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

2 Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade,

And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

3 So I have been allotted months of futility,

And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

4 When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise,

And the night be ended?’

For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

5 My flesh is caked with worms and dust,

My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And are spent without hope.

7 Oh, remember that my life is a breath!

My eye will never again see good.

8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;

While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,

So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.

10 He shall never return to his house,

Nor shall his place know him anymore.

1 “People have a hard task on earth,

and their days are like those of a laborer.

2 They are like a slave wishing for the evening shadows,

like a laborer waiting to be paid.

3 But I am given months that are empty,

and nights of misery have been given to me.

4 When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’

The night is long, and I toss until dawn.

5 My body is covered with worms and scabs,

and my skin is broken and full of sores.

6 “My days go by faster than a weaver’s tool,

and they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember, God, that my life is only 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 As a cloud disappears and is gone,

people go to the grave and never return.

10 They will never come back to their houses again,

and their places will not know them anymore.

1 Is there not a warfare to man upon earth?

And are not his days like the days of a hireling?

2 As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow,

And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:

3 So am I made to possess months of misery,

And wearisome nights are appointed to me.

4 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.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;

My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And are spent without hope.

7 Oh remember that my life is a breath:

Mine eye shall no more see good.

8 The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more;

Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.

9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,

So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.

10 He shall return no more to his house,

Neither shall his place know him any more.

1 “Isn’t a mortal’s stay on earth difficult 

like a hired hand’s daily ⸤work⸥? 

2 Like a slave, he longs for shade. 

Like a hired hand, he eagerly looks for his pay. 

3 Likewise, I have been given months that are of no use, 

and I have inherited nights filled with misery. 

4 When I lie down, I ask, 

‘When will I get up?’ 

But the evening is long, 

and I’m exhausted from tossing about until dawn. 

5 My body is covered with maggots and scabs. 

My skin is crusted over with sores; then they ooze. 

6 My days go swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. 

They are spent without hope. 

7 Remember, my life is only a breath, 

and never again will my eyes see anything good. 

8 The eye that watches over me will no longer see me. 

Your eye will look for me, but I’ll be gone. 

9 As a cloud fades away and disappears, 

so a person goes into the grave and doesn’t come back again. 

10 He doesn’t come back home again, 

and his household doesn’t recognize him anymore. 

1 Isn’t mankind consigned to forced labor on earth?

Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

2 Like a slave he longs for shade;

like a hired man he waits for his pay.

3 So I have been made to inherit months of futility,

and troubled nights have been assigned to me.

4 When I lie down I think:

When will I get up?

But the evening drags on endlessly,

and I toss and turn until dawn.

5 My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.

My skin forms scabs and then oozes.

6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;

they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember that my life is but a breath.

My eye will never again see anything good.

8 The eye of anyone who looks on me

will no longer see me.

Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,

so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.

10 He will never return to his house;

his hometown will no longer remember him.

1 “Do not human beings have a hard service on earth,

and are not their days like the days of a laborer?

2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,

and like laborers who look for their wages,

3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,

and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I rise?’

But the night is long,

and I am full of tossing until dawn.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;

my skin hardens, then breaks out again.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

and come to their end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is a breath;

my eye will never again see good.

8 The eye that beholds me will see me no more;

while your eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.

9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,

so those who go down to Sheol do not come up;

10 they return no more to their houses,

nor do their places know them any more.

1 “Does not a human being have hard service on earth?

And are not his days like the days of a laborer?

2 Like a slave he longs for the shadow,

and like a laborer he waits for his wages.

3 So I had to inherit months of worthlessness,

and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4 When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I rise?’

But the night is long,

and I have my fill of tossing until dawn.

5 My body is clothed with maggots and clods of dust;

my skin hardens, then it gives way again.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

and they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember that my life is a breath;

my eye will not return to see good.

8 The eye of the one seeing me will not see me;

your eyes are upon me, but I will be gone.

9 A cloud vanishes, and it goes away,

so he who goes down to Sheol will not come up.

10 He does not return again to his house,

and his place does not recognize him again.

1 Job continued,

“Doesn’t every man have to work hard on this earth?

Aren’t his days like the days of a hired worker?

2 I’ve been like a slave

who longs for the evening shadows to come.

I’ve been like a hired worker

who can hardly wait to get paid.

3 I’ve been given several months that were useless to me.

My nights have been filled with suffering.

4 When I lie down I think,

‘How long will it be before I can get up?’

The night drags on.

I toss and turn until sunrise.

5 My body is covered with worms and sores.

My skin is broken. It has boils all over it.

6 “My days pass by faster than a weaver can work.

They come to an end. I don’t have any hope.

7 God, remember that my life is only a breath.

I’ll never be happy again.

8 The eyes that see me now won’t see me anymore.

You will look for me. But I’ll be gone.

9 When a cloud disappears, it’s gone forever.

And anyone who goes down to the grave never returns.

10 He never comes home again.

Even his own family doesn’t remember him.

1 “Is not man forced to labor on earth,

And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3 So am I allotted months of vanity,

And nights of trouble are appointed me.

4 “When I lie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am continually tossing until dawn.

5 “My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is but breath;

My eye will not again see good.

8 “The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

9 “When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

10 “He will not return again to his house,

Nor will his place know him anymore.