Job Continues His Prayer
Life Is Short and Sorrowful
1 Life is short and sorrowful
for every living soul.
2We are flowers that fade
and shadows that vanish.
3And so, I ask you, God,
why pick on me?
4There's no way a human
can be completely pure.
5Our time on earth is brief;
the number of our days
is already decided by you.
6Why don't you leave us alone
and let us find some happiness
while we toil and labor?
When a Tree Is Chopped Down
7When a tree is chopped down,
there is always the hope
that it will sprout again.
8Its roots and stump may rot,
9but at the touch of water,
it sprouts once again.
10Humans are different—
we die, and that's the end.
11We are like streams and lakes
after the water has gone;
12we fall into the sleep of death,
never to rise again,
until the sky disappears.
13Please hide me, God,
deep in the ground—
and when you are angry no more,
remember to rescue me.
Will We Humans Live Again?
14Will we humans live again?
I would gladly suffer
and wait for my time.
15My Creator, you would want me;
you would call out,
and I would answer.
16You would take care of me,
but not count my sins—
17you would put them in a bag,
tie it tight,
and toss them away.
18But in the real world,
mountains tumble,
and rocks crumble;
19streams wear away stones
and wash away soil.
And you destroy our hopes!
20You change the way we look,
then send us away,
wiped out forever.
21We never live to know
if our children are praised
or disgraced.
22We feel no pain but our own,
and when we mourn,
it's only for ourselves.