¹人生在世多有愁苦“人在世上怎能沒有勞役呢？你的日子不像雇工的日子嗎？

¹“Isn’t a man forced to labor on earth? Aren’t his days like the days of a hired hand?

²正如僕人切慕暮影，又像雇工盼望工價。

²As a servant who earnestly desires the shadow, as a hireling who looks for his wages,

³照樣，我有空虛的歲月，也有勞苦的黑夜為我派定。

³so am I made to possess months of misery, wearisome nights are appointed to me.

⁴我躺下的時候，就說：‘我甚麼時候起來？’然而，長夜漫漫，我輾轉反側，直到黎明。

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, and the night be gone?’ I toss and turn until the dawning of the day.

⁵我的肉體以蟲子和土塊為衣裳，我的皮膚裂開又流膿。

⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust. My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh.

⁶我過的日子比梭還要快，在毫無盼望之中而結束。

⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.

⁷求你記念我的性命不過是一口氣，我的眼必不再看見福樂。

⁷Oh remember that my life is a breath. My eye shall no more see good.

⁸看我的，他的眼再也看不到我，你的眼要看我，我已經不在了。

⁸The eye of him who sees me shall see me no more. Your eyes shall be on me, but I shall not be.

⁹雲彩怎樣消散逝去，照樣，人下陰間也不再上來。

⁹As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. shall come up no more.

¹⁰他不再回自己的家，故鄉再也不認識他。

¹⁰He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.

¹¹因此，我不再禁止我的口，我要說出靈裡的憂愁，傾訴心中的痛苦。

¹¹“Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²埋怨　神待他過嚴我豈是洋海或是海怪，你竟然設守衛防備我？

¹²Am I a sea, or a sea monster, that you put a guard over me?

¹³我若說：‘我的床必安慰我，我的榻必減輕我的苦情’，

¹³When I say, ‘My bed shall comfort me. My couch shall ease my complaint;’

¹⁴你就用夢驚擾我，又用異象驚嚇我，

¹⁴then you scare me with dreams, and terrify me through visions:

¹⁵以致我寧可窒息而死，也不肯保留我這一身的骨頭。

¹⁵so that my soul chooses strangling, death rather than my bones.

¹⁶我厭惡自己，不願永遠活下去。任憑我吧，因為我的日子都是空虛的。

¹⁶I loathe my life. I don’t want to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

¹⁷人算甚麼，你竟看他為大，又把他放在心上；

¹⁷What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should set your mind on him,

¹⁸每天早晨你都鑒察他，每時每刻你也試驗他。

¹⁸that you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?

¹⁹你到甚麼時候才轉眼不看我，任憑我咽下唾沫呢？

¹⁹How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone until I swallow down my spittle?

²⁰鑒察世人的主啊！我若犯了罪，跟你有甚麼關係呢？你為甚麼把我當作箭靶，使我以自己為重擔呢？

²⁰If I have sinned, what do I do to you, you watcher of men? Why have you set me as a mark for you, so that I am a burden to myself?

²¹你為甚麼不赦免我的過犯，除去我的罪孽呢？現在我快要躺臥在塵土中，那時你尋找我，我卻不在了。”

²¹Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I shall not be.”