¹Sejak lahir manusia itu lemah, tidak berdaya; hidupnya singkat serta penuh derita.

¹“Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.

²Ia bersemi dan layu seperti kembang; lenyap seperti bayangan, terus menghilang.

²He comes forth like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.

³Ya Allah, masakan Engkau mau memandangku, dan menghadapkan aku ke pengadilan-Mu!

³Do you open your eyes on such a one, and bring me into judgment with you?

⁴Dapatkah manusia yang berdosa mendatangkan hal yang sempurna?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.

⁵Jumlah umur manusia sudah Kautentukan; jumlah bulannya sudah Kaupastikan. Kautetapkan pula batas-batas hidupnya; tidak mungkin ia melangkahinya.

⁵Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he can’t pass;

⁶Biarkanlah ia beristirahat, jangan ganggu dia; supaya ia dapat menikmati hidupnya sampai selesai tugasnya.

⁶Look away from him, that he may rest, until he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

⁷Masih ada harapan bagi pohon yang ditebang; ia akan bertunas lagi, lalu bercabang.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, that the tender branch of it will not cease.

⁸Meskipun di dalam tanah akarnya menjadi lapuk, dan tanggulnya mati karena busuk,

⁸Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stock dies in the ground,

⁹tetapi bila disentuh air, ia tumbuh lagi; seperti tanaman muda, tunas-tunasnya muncul kembali.

⁹yet through the scent of water it will bud, and put forth boughs like a plant.

¹⁰Tapi bila manusia mati, habis riwayatnya; ia meninggal dunia, lalu ke mana perginya?

¹⁰But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?

¹¹Seperti air menguap dari dalam telaga, seperti sungai surut sampai habis airnya,

¹¹As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up,

¹²begitu pula manusia yang telah mati: ia tidak akan dapat bangkit kembali. Ia tak akan terjaga selama langit masih ada, tak pernah lagi bangun dari tidurnya.

¹²so man lies down and doesn’t rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.

¹³Sembunyikanlah aku di dalam dunia orang mati; lindungilah aku sampai Kau tidak marah lagi. Tapi tentukanlah waktu untuk mengingat diriku.

¹³“Oh that you would hide me in Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. , that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴Sebab, apabila manusia mati, dapatkah ia hidup kembali? Hari demi hari aku menunggu sampai masa pahitku ini lalu.

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, until my release should come.

¹⁵Maka Engkau akan memanggil aku, dan aku pun akan memberi jawaban; Engkau akan sayang lagi kepadaku, makhluk yang Kauciptakan.

¹⁵You would call, and I would answer you. You would have a desire to the work of your hands.

¹⁶Lalu akan Kauawasi setiap langkahku, tapi tidak lagi Kauperhatikan dosaku.

¹⁶But now you number my steps. Don’t you watch over my sin?

¹⁷Dosaku akan Kauampuni dan Kausingkirkan; salahku waktu dulu akan Kauhapuskan.

¹⁷My disobedience is sealed up in a bag. You fasten up my iniquity.

¹⁸Kelak gunung-gunung akan runtuh dan porak poranda, dan gunung batu yang kokoh bergeser dari tempatnya.

¹⁸“But the mountain falling comes to nothing. The rock is removed out of its place;

¹⁹Batu-batu akan dikikis oleh air yang mengalir kuat; tanah akan dihanyutkan oleh hujan yang lebat. Demikianlah Kauhancurkan harapan manusia.

¹⁹The waters wear the stones. The torrents of it wash away the dust of the earth. So you destroy the hope of man.

²⁰Kaukalahkan dia untuk selama-lamanya; Kausuruh dia pergi dan Kauubah wajahnya.

²⁰You forever prevail against him, and he departs. You change his face, and send him away.

²¹Anak-anaknya menjadi orang mulia, tetapi ia tidak mengetahuinya. Dan apabila mereka menjadi hina, tak ada yang memberitahukan kepadanya.

²¹His sons come to honor, and he doesn’t know it. They are brought low, but he doesn’t perceive it of them.

²²Hanya nyeri tubuhnya yang dirasakannya; hanya pilu hatinya yang dideritanya."

²²But his flesh on him has pain, and his soul within him mourns.”