| 1 | Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. |
| 2 | He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. |
| 3 | And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? |
| 4 | Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. |
| 5 | Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; |
| 6 | Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. |
| 7 | For 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. |
| 8 | Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; |
| 9 | Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. |
| 10 | But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? |
| 11 | As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: |
| 12 | So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. |
| 13 | O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! |
| 14 | If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. |
| 15 | Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. |
| 16 | For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? |
| 17 | My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. |
| 18 | And surely the mountains falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. |
| 19 | The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. |
| 20 | Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. |
| 21 | His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. |
| 22 | But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
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Public Domain