1 Is there not hard service for man {enosh: frail human} on earth, and are not his days like those of a hired laborer {sakhir: wage earner}?
2 As a slave longs for the shadow {tzel: relief from heat}, and as a hired worker waits for his wages {faolo: earned payment},
3 Thus I have been allotted months of futility {shav: hollow meaninglessness}, and nights of distress {amal: burdensome suffering} have been apportioned to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, “When will I arise, and when will the evening be over?” Then I am filled with tossings {nedudim: ceaseless restlessness} until dawn {nashef: first light}.
5 My flesh {besari: suffering body} is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin hardens {raga: forms scabs} and then breaks open again.
6 My days {yamai: allotted lifetime} are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle {areg: weaving shuttle} and come to an end without hope.
7 Remember that my life {chaiyai: brief earthly existence} is but a breath; my eye will not again see good {tov: genuine well-being}.
8 The eye of the one who sees me {ro'i: ongoing watcher} will no longer look upon me; your eyes are upon me, and I am no more {eyneni: completely absent}.
9 As a cloud {anan: passing vapor} vanishes and goes away, so one who goes down to Sheol {sheol: realm of dead} will not come up again.
10 He will not return again to his house {leveito: personal household sphere}, and his place will not recognize him {yakirennu: register his absence} anymore.
11 Therefore I also will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit {ruakh: inner life force}; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul {nefesh: life essence}.
12 Am I the sea {yam: vast waters} or a sea monster {tannin: mythic chaos creature}, that You station a guard over me?
13 For I said, “My bed will comfort me {tenachameni: bring consolation}, my couch {mishkavi: place of lying} will lift up my complaint.”
14 And You frighten me with dreams {bachalomot: nocturnal disturbances}, and You terrify me with visions {chezionot: unsettling revelations}.
15 So my soul {nefesh: whole inner self} chose strangling {machanaq: choking death} and death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe {maasti: reject with deep revulsion} my life; I do not desire to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a mere breath {hevel: fleeting vapor}.
17 What is man {enosh: frail mortal}, that you make him great, and that you set your heart {libbecha: seat of devotion} upon him?
18 You attend to him every morning {livqarim: repeated early hours} and test {tivchanennu: examine closely} him every moment.
19 How long will you not turn your gaze {tish'eh: enduring scrutiny} from me, nor leave me alone until I swallow my spit {ruqqi: tiniest possible respite}?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do to you, watcher of humanity {notser ha-adam: Vigilant Overseer}? Why have you set me as a target for you, and I have become a burden {massa: heavy load} to myself?
21 Why do You {YHWH, Righteous Judge} not lift away my transgression {fish-i: deliberate rebellion}, or cause my iniquity to pass over? For now I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me in the morning, but I will no longer be.