Job 7
1 Hath not man a life of labour upon earth? and are not his days like the days of a hireling?
“People need to work hard on this earth, like soldiers do; all during the time that we are alive, we work hard [RHQ], like laborers/servants do.
2 As a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages,
We are like [SIM] slaves who keep wanting to be in the cool shade, and we are like [SIM] workers who are waiting to be paid.
3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
God has given me many months [in which I think that it is] useless [to remain alive]; he has allotted/given to me many nights during which I feel miserable.
4 If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone? and I am full of tossings until the dawn.
When I lie down [at night] I say, ‘How long will it be until morning?’ But nights are long, and I (toss/turn over and over) [on my bed] until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates.
My body is covered with maggots and scabs; pus oozes out of my open sores.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
My days pass as quickly as a weaver’s (shuttle/stick that takes the thread back and forth), and they end without my confidently expecting [that things will be better the next day].
7 Remember thou that my life is wind; mine eye shall no more see good.
God, do not forget that my life is [as short as] a breath [MET]; I [think that] I [SYN] will never again be happy.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no [more]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
God, you [SYN] see me now, but [some day] you will not see me any more. You will search for me, but I will be gone [because I will be dead].
9 The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up. (Sheol h7585)
Like [SIM] clouds (disperse/break up) and then disappear, people [die and] descend to the place where dead people are, and they do not return; (Sheol h7585)
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him again.
they never return to their houses, and people among whom they lived do not remember them any more.
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.
So, I will not be silent; while I am suffering I will speak; I will complain [to God about what has happened to me] because I [SYN] am very angry.
12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that thou settest a watch over me?
[God, ] why do you watch closely what I am doing? [Do you think that] I am a [dangerous] sea monster?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
When [I lie down at night, ] I think, ‘I will be comforted here on my bed; my pain will be less while I am sleeping.’
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions;
But then you give me dreams that cause me to be afraid; you give me visions that terrify me,
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, death, rather than my bones.
with the result that I would prefer to be strangled to death than to continue to [be alive] being only a bunch of bones.
16 I loathe it; I shall not live always: let me alone, for my days are a breath.
I detest continuing to be alive; I do not want to live for many years [HYP]. Allow me to be alone, [because I will be alive] for only a very short remaining time [HYP].
17 What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him?
“We human beings are not [very important]; so, why do you pay a lot of attention to us [DOU]?
18 And that thou visitest him every morning, triest him every moment?
You look at us every morning [to see what we are doing], and examine us every moment [to see if we are doing what is right].
19 How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
(When will you stop looking at me and leave me alone [for a little time], long enough to swallow my spit?/Please stop looking at me and leave me alone [for a little time], long enough to swallow my spit.) [RHQ]
20 Have I sinned, what do I unto thee, thou Observer of men? Why hast thou set me as an object of assault for thee, so that I am become a burden to myself?
[Why do] you watch me constantly? If I sin, that certainly does not harm you! Why have you set me up like a target to shoot at? Do you consider me to be a heavy load that you are forced to carry?
21 And why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.
[If I have sinned, ] are you not able to forgive me for my sins— the things that I have done that are wrong? Soon I will lie in my grave; you will search for me, but [you will not find me because] I will be [dead and] gone.”
