1Man, that is born of a woman,
Is of few days, and full of trouble.
2He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:
He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one,
And bringest me into judgment with thee?
4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5Seeing his days are determined,
The number of his months is with thee,
And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6Look away from him, that he may rest,
Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
7For there is hope of a tree,
If it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
And the stock thereof die in the ground;
9Yet through the scent of water it will bud,
And put forth boughs like a plant.
10But man dieth, and is laid low:
Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11
As the waters fail from the sea,
And the river wasteth and drieth up;
12So man lieth down and riseth not:
Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,
Nor be roused out of their sleep.
13Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol,
That thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past,
That thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14If a man die, shall he live again?
All the days of my warfare would I wait,
Till my release should come.
15Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee:
Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.
16But now thou numberest my steps:
Dost thou not watch over my sin?
17My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And thou fastenest up mine iniquity.
18But the mountain falling cometh to nought;
And the rock is removed out of its place;
19The waters wear the stones;
The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth:
So thou destroyest the hope of man.
20Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth;
Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not;
And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22But his flesh upon him hath pain,
And his soul within him mourneth.
Public Domain
