King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
1
I am tired of living. Listen to my bitter complaint.
2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
2
Don't condemn me, God. Tell me! What is the charge against me?
3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
3
Is it right for you to be so cruel? To despise what you yourself have made? And then to smile on the schemes of wicked people?
4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
4
Do you see things as we do?
5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days,
5
Is your life as short as ours?
6 That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
6
Then why do you track down all my sins and hunt down every fault I have?
7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
7
You know that I am not guilty, that no one can save me from you.
8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
8
Your hands formed and shaped me, and now those same hands destroy me.
9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
9
Remember that you made me from clay; are you going to crush me back to dust?
10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
10
You gave my father strength to beget me; you made me grow in my mother's womb.
11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
11
You formed my body with bones and sinews and covered the bones with muscles and skin.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
12
You have given me life and constant love, and your care has kept me alive.
13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
13
But now I know that all that time you were secretly planning to harm me.
14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
14
You were watching to see if I would sin, so that you could refuse to forgive me.
15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
15
As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you, but when I do right, I get no credit. I am miserable and covered with shame.
16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
16
If I have any success at all, you hunt me down like a lion; to hurt me you even work miracles.
17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
17
You always have some witness against me; your anger toward me grows and grows; you always plan some new attack.
18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
18
Why, God, did you let me be born? I should have died before anyone saw me.
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
19
To go from the womb straight to the grave would have been as good as never existing.
20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
20
Isn't my life almost over? Leave me alone! Let me enjoy the time I have left.
21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
21
I am going soon and will never come back - going to a land that is dark and gloomy,
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
22
a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion, where the light itself is darkness.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.