1 "My inner self loathes my life; {I want to give vent to my complaint}; I want to speak out of [the] bitterness of my inner self.
2 I will say to God, 'You should not condemn me; let me know why you contend [against] me.
3 Is it good for you that you oppress, that you despise the labor of your hands, and you smile over the schemes of [the] wicked?
4 {Do you have eyes of flesh}? Or {do you see as human beings see}?
5 [Are] your days as the days of human beings, or your years as the days of man,
6 that you seek out my iniquity, and you search for my sin
7 because of your knowledge that I am not guilty, and there is no escaping from your hand?
8 Your hands fashioned me and made me {altogether}, then you destroyed me.
9 Please remember that you made me like clay, but you turn me into dust [again]?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk and {curdle me} like cheese?
11 You clothed me [with] skin and flesh, and you knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and loyal love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 " 'Yet you hid these [things] in your heart; I know that this {was your purpose}.
14 If I had sinned, then you would be watching me, and you would not acquit me of my guilt.
15 If I am guilty, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift my head; [I am] filled [with] shame, and [just] look [at] my misery!
16 And [if my head] grows bold, you would hunt me as the lion in its prime; {and you repeat your exploits against me}.
17 You renew your witnesses against me, and you increase your vexation against me; {relief forces} [are] against me.
18 So why did you bring me forth from the womb? I should have passed away, {and no eye should have seen me}.
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been brought from [the] womb to the grave.
20 [Are] not my days few? Let him leave [me] alone; let him turn from me, and let me rejoice a little.
21 Before I go--and I will not return-- to [the] land of darkness and deep shadow,
22 to [the] land of darkness, like [the] darkness of a deep shadow and {chaos}, so that it shines forth like darkness.'"