Job 7
1 “Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?
“Is there not warfare to man on earth? And his days as the days of a hired worker?
2 Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.
As a servant desires the shadow, And as a hired worker expects his wage,
3 So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed me.
So I have been caused to inherit months of vanity, And they numbered nights of misery to me.
4 When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
If I lay down, then I have said, When do I rise, And evening has been measured? And I have been full of tossings until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering.
My flesh has been clothed [with] worms, And a clod of dust, My skin has been shriveled and is loathsome,
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
My days swifter than a loom, And they are consumed without hope.
7 Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.
Remember that my life [is] a breath, My eye does not turn back to see good.
8 The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.
The eye of my beholder does not behold me. Your eyes [are] on me—and I am not.
9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. (Sheol h7585)
A cloud has been consumed, and it goes, So he who is going down to Sheol does not come up. (Sheol h7585)
10 He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.
He does not turn to his house again, Nor does his place discern him again.
11 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.
Also I do not withhold my mouth—I speak in the distress of my spirit, I talk in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?
Am I a sea [monster], or a dragon, That You set a watch over me?
13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
When I said, My bed comforts me, In my talking He takes away my couch.
14 then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
And You have frightened me with dreams, And You terrify me from visions,
15 so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.
And my soul chooses strangling, Death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
I have wasted away—I do not live for all time. Cease from me, for my days [are] vanity.
17 What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
What [is] man that You magnify him? And that You set Your heart to him?
18 that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?
And inspect him in the mornings, [And] in the evenings try him?
19 Will You never look away from me, or leave me alone to swallow my spittle?
How long do You not look from me? You do not desist until I swallow my spittle.
20 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?
I have sinned, what do I do to You, O watcher of man? Why have You set me for a mark to You, And I am for a burden to myself—and what?
21 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.”
You do not take away my transgression, And [do not] cause my iniquity to pass away, Because now, I lie down in dust, And You have sought me—and I am not!”
