< 約伯記 7 >
1 人生在世,豈不像服兵役﹖人的歲月,豈不像傭工的時日﹖
“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?
Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.
3 這樣,我也只有承受失意的歲月,為我注定的苦痛長夜。
So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed me.
4 我臥下時說:「幾時天亮﹖」我起來時又說:「黑夜何時到﹖」我整夜輾轉反側,直到天亮。
When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering.
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
7 請你記住:我的生命無非像一口氣,我的眼再也見不到幸福。
Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.
8 注目於我的,再也見不到我;你的眼看我時、我已不在了。
The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.
9 他去了,好像雲消霧散;下到陰府的,再也不得上來, (Sheol )
As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. (Sheol )
He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.
11 為此,我不能再閉口不言,我要吐露我心靈的憂愁,陳述我靈魂的苦楚。
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?
13 我若想:「我的床榻會寬慰我,我的臥舖會減輕我的痛苦。」
When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.
16 我已筋疲力盡,活不下去。任憑我去罷! 因為我的日月僅是一口氣。
I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?
Will You never look away from me, or leave me alone to swallow my spittle?
20 監察人者啊! 我犯罪與你何干﹖為何叫我當你的箭靶,使我成為你的重擔﹖
If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?
21 為何你不肯容忍我的過錯,寬赦我的罪惡﹖不久我將臥在塵土中,任你尋找我,我已不在了。
Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”