7:1 "Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man?

7:2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,

7:3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me.

7:4 When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?' The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

7:5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.

7:6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.

7:7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.

7:8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more.

7:9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return.

7:10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.

7:11 "Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

7:12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard?

7:13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,

7:14 even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,

7:15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.

7:16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

7:17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,

7:18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?

7:19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?

7:20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?

7:21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more."