Job 7
1 “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.
Is there not a war-service for man on the earth? Are not his days as the days of a hireling?
2 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.
As a servant panteth for the shade, And as a hireling looketh for his wages,
3 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.
So am I made to possess months of affliction, And wearisome nights are appointed for me.
4 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.
If I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of restlessness until the dawning of the day.
5 My body is covered with maggots and scabs; pus oozes out of my open sores.
My flesh is clothed with worms, and clods of dust; My skin is broken and become loathsome.
6 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].
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; They pass away without hope.
7 God, do not forget that my life is [as short as] a breath [MET]; I [think that] I [SYN] will never again be happy.
O remember that my life is a breath; That mine eye shall no more see good!
8 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].
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more; Thine eyes shall look for me, but I shall not be.
9 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)
As the cloud dissolveth and wasteth away, So he that goeth down to the grave shall arise no more; (Sheol h7585)
10 they never return to their houses, and people among whom they lived do not remember them any more.
No more shall he return to his house, And his dwelling-place shall know him no more.
11 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.
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.
12 [God, ] why do you watch closely what I am doing? [Do you think that] I am a [dangerous] sea monster?
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me?
13 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.’
When I say, My bed shall relieve me, My couch shall ease my complaint,
14 But then you give me dreams that cause me to be afraid; you give me visions that terrify me,
Then thou scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me with visions;
15 with the result that I would prefer to be strangled to death than to continue to [be alive] being only a bunch of bones.
So that my soul chooseth strangling, Yea, death, rather than these my bones.
16 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].
I am wasting away; I shall not live alway: Let me alone, for my days are a vapor!
17 “We human beings are not [very important]; so, why do you pay a lot of attention to us [DOU]?
What is man, that thou shouldst make great account him, And fix thy mind upon him?—
18 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].
That thou shouldst visit him every morning, And prove him every moment?
19 (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]
How long ere thou wilt look away from me, And let me alone, till I have time to breathe?
20 [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?
If I have sinned, what have I done to thee, O thou watcher of men! Why hast thou set me up as thy mark, So that I have become a burden to myself?
21 [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.”
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, And take away mine iniquity? For soon shall I sleep in the dust; And, though thou seek me diligently, I shall not be.
