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14 “·All of us [L Human beings; T Man] born ·to women [T of woman]
    ·live only a few [L are short of] days and ·have lots [full] of trouble.
·We [L They] grow up like flowers and then ·dry up and die [L wither].
    ·We are like a passing [L …and flee like a] shadow that does not last.
Lord, do you need to watch me like this?
    Must you bring me before you to be judged?
No one can bring something clean [C in a ritual sense] from something unclean.
·Our [L If their] time is limited.
    You have given ·us [L them] only so many months to live
    and have set limits ·we [L they] cannot go beyond.
So look away from us and ·leave us alone [stop; desist]
    until we put in our time like a laborer [C until death].

“If a tree is cut down,
    there is hope that it will grow again
    and will send out new ·branches [shoots].
Even if its roots grow old in the ground,
    and its stump dies in the ·dirt [dust],
at the ·smell [scent] of water it will bud
    and put out new ·shoots [boughs] like a plant.
10 But ·we [L mortals] die, and ·our bodies are laid in the ground [L dwindle away];
    ·we take our last breath [L humans expire] and are ·gone [L no more; C unlike trees, humans do not come back to life].
11 Water disappears from a ·lake [sea],
    and a river ·loses its water and dries up [L dries up and withers away].
12 In the same way, ·we [L humans] lie down and do not rise again;
    ·we [L they] will not get up or be awakened
    until the heavens disappear [C that is, never].

13 “I wish you would hide me in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld];
    ·hide [conceal] me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a ·time [limit]
    and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again [C the implied answer is no]?
    All my days are ·a struggle [L hard service];
    I will wait until my ·change [L release] comes.
15 You ·will call [L would summon me], and I ·will [or would] answer you;
    you ·will [or would] desire the ·creature your hands have made [L work of your hands].
16 ·Then [or Now] you ·will count [count] my steps [C meaning God would focus negatively on Job’s sin],
    but you ·will [or would] not keep track of my sin [C in a hypothetical future].
17 My wrongs ·will [or would] be closed up in a bag,
    and you ·will [or would] cover up my sin.

18 “A mountain ·washes [L falls] away and crumbles;
    and a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water ·washes over stones and wears them down [L grinds down the stones],
    and ·rushing waters [or violent storms] wash away the ·dirt [dust].
    In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You ·defeat [overpower] people forever, and they are gone;
    you change their appearance [C from joy to despair] and send them away.
21 Their children are honored, but they do not know it [C because they, the parents, are dead or dying];
    their children are ·disgraced [lowered], but they [C the parents] do not see it.
22 They [C the parents] only feel the pain of their ·body [L flesh]
    and ·feel sorry [mourn] for themselves.”

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