7 “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.

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 that my couch will stop my complaint.

14  Then you frighten me with dreams

and 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.

Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.

17  “Why do you make people so important

and give them so much attention?

18  You examine them every morning

and test them every moment.

19  Will you never look away from me

or leave me alone even long enough to swallow?

20  If I have sinned, what have I done to you,

you watcher of humans?

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 of death.

Then you will search for me, but I will be no more.”