1 Anyone born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble. i
2 He blossoms like a flower, then withers; j
he flees like a shadow and does not last.
3 Do you really take notice of one like this?
Will you bring me into judgment against you? U,k
4 Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!
5 Since a person’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on you,
and since you have set V limits he cannot pass, l
6 look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired worker. m
7 There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.
8 If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,
9 the scent of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling. n
10 But a person dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?
11 As water disappears from a lake
and a river becomes parched and dry,
12 so people lie down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; o
they will not stir from their sleep.
13 If only you would hide me in Sheol p
and conceal me until your anger q passes.
If only you would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.
14 When a person dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait r all the days of my struggle s
until my relief comes.
15 You would call, and I would answer you.
You would long for the work of your hands. t
16 For then you would count my steps u
but would not take note v of my sin.
17 My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and you would cover over my iniquity.
18 But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope. w
20 You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
you change his appearance and send him away.
21 If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it. x
22 He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.