New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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1 Has not man hard service on earth,
and are not his days like those of a hired labourer,
2 like those of a slave longing for the shade
or a servant kept waiting for his wages?
3 So months of futility are my portion,
troubled nights are my lot.
4 When I lie down, I think,
‘When will it be day that note I may rise?’
When the evening grows long and I lie down, note
I do nothing but toss till morning twilight.
5 My body is infested with worms,
and scabs cover my skin. note
6 My days are swifter than a shuttle note
and come to an end as the thread runs out. note
7 Remember, my life is but a breath of wind;
I shall never again see good days.
-- --
First cycle of speeches
8 Thou wilt behold me no more with a seeing eye;
under thy very eyes I shall disappear.
9 As clouds break up and disperse,
so he that goes down to Sheol never comes back;
10 he never returns home again,
and his place will know him no more. note
11 But I will not hold my peace;
I will speak out in the distress of my mind
and complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the monster of the deep, am I the sea-serpent,
that thou settest a watch over me?
13 When I think that my bed will comfort me,
that sleep will relieve my complaining,
14 thou dost terrify me with dreams
and affright me with visions.
15 I would rather be choked outright;
I would prefer death to all my sufferings.
16 I am in despair, I would not go on living;
leave me alone, for my life is but a vapour.
17 What is man that thou makest much of him
and turnest thy thoughts towards him,
18 only to punish him morning by morning
or to test him every hour of the day?
19 Wilt thou not look away from me for an instant?
Wilt thou not let me be while I swallow my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, how do I injure thee,
thou watcher of the hearts note of men?
Why hast thou made me thy butt,
and why have I become thy note target?
21 Why dost thou not pardon my offence
and take away my guilt?
But now I shall lie down in the grave;
seek me, and I shall not be.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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