1 O homem, nascido de mulher, vive breve tempo, cheio de inquietação.
2 Nasce como a flor e murcha;
foge como a sombra e não permanece;
3 e sobre tal homem abres os olhos
e o fazes entrar em juízo contigo?
4 Quem da imundícia poderá tirar coisa pura?
Ninguém!
5 Visto que os seus dias estão contados,
contigo está o número dos seus meses;
tu ao homem puseste limites
além dos quais não passará.
6 Desvia dele os olhares, para que tenha repouso,
até que, como o jornaleiro, tenha prazer no seu dia.
7 Porque há esperança para a árvore,
pois, mesmo cortada, ainda se renovará,
e não cessarão os seus rebentos.
8 Se envelhecer na terra a sua raiz,
e no chão morrer o seu tronco,
9 ao cheiro das águas brotará
e dará ramos como a planta nova.
10 O homem, porém, morre e fica prostrado;
expira o homem e onde está?
11 Como as águas do lago se evaporam,
e o rio se esgota e seca,
12 assim o homem se deita e não se levanta;
enquanto existirem os céus, não acordará,
nem será despertado do seu sono.
13 Que me encobrisses na sepultura
e me ocultasses até que a tua ira se fosse,
e me pusesses um prazo
e depois te lembrasses de mim!
14 Morrendo o homem, porventura tornará a viver?
Todos os dias da minha luta esperaria,
até que eu fosse substituído.
15 Chamar-me-ias, e eu te responderia;
terias saudades da obra de tuas mãos;
16 e até contarias os meus passos
e não levarias em conta os meus pecados.
17 A minha transgressão estaria selada num saco,
e terias encoberto as minhas iniquidades.
18 Como o monte que se esboroa e se desfaz,
e a rocha que se remove do seu lugar,
19 como as águas gastam as pedras,
e as cheias arrebatam o pó da terra,
assim destróis a esperança do homem.
20 Tu prevaleces para sempre contra ele, e ele passa,
mudas-lhe o semblante e o despedes para o além.
21 Os seus filhos recebem honras, e ele o não sabe;
são humilhados, e ele o não percebe.
22 Ele sente as dores apenas de seu próprio corpo,
e só a seu respeito sofre a sua alma.
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 dost thou open thine eyes upon such a 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 is with thee,
And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Look away from him, that he may rest,
Till he shall accomplish, as a 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 put forth boughs like a plant.
10 But 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;
12 So man lieth down and riseth not:
Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake,
Nor be roused out of their sleep.
13 Oh 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!
14 If a man die, shall he live again?
All the days of my warfare would I wait,
Till my release should come.
15 Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee:
Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.
16 But now thou numberest my steps:
Dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And thou fastenest up mine iniquity.
18 But the mountain falling cometh to nought;
And the rock is removed out of its place;
19 The waters wear the stones;
The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth:
So 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 honor, and he knoweth it not;
And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him hath pain,
And his soul within him mourneth.
1 "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
2 They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.
3 Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them "before you for judgment?
4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!
5 A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
6 So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.
7 "At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.
10 But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.
11 As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,
12 so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.
13 "If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me!
14 If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal "to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.
16 Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.
17 My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.
18 "But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place,
19 as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy a person's hope.
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away.
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves."