Job 7:1–8:22
1 “1Is not man aforced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of ba hired man?
2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So am I allotted months of vanity,
And anights of trouble are appointed me.
4 “When I alie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am 1continually tossing until dawn.
5 “My aflesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and runs.
6 “My days are aswifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end bwithout hope.
7 “Remember that my life ais but breath;
My eye will bnot again see good.
8 “The aeye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but bI will not be.
9 “When a acloud vanishes, it is gone,
So bhe who goes down to cSheol does not come up.
10 “He will not return again to his house,
Nor will ahis place know him anymore.
11 “Therefore aI will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 “Am I the sea, or athe sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
13 “If I say, ‘aMy bed will comfort me,
My couch will 1ease my complaint,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions;
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my 1pains.
16 “I 1awaste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, bfor my days are but a breath.
17 “aWhat is man that You magnify him,
And that You 1are concerned about him,
18 That aYou examine him every morning
And try him every moment?
19 “1aWill You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 “aHave I sinned? What have I done to You,
O bwatcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 “Why then ado You not pardon my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will blie down in the dust;
And You will seek me, cbut I will not be.”
Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite 1answered,
2 “How long will you say these things,
And the awords of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 “Does aGod pervert justice?
Or does 1the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 “aIf your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the 1power of their transgression.
5 “If you would aseek God
And implore the compassion of 1the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now aHe would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous 1bestate.
7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your aend will increase greatly.
8 “Please ainquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because aour days on earth are as a shadow.
10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?
11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
12 “While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other 1plant.
13 “So are the paths of aall who forget God;
And the bhope of the godless will perish,
14 Whose confidence is fragile,
And whose trust a aspider’s 1web.
15 “He 1trusts in his ahouse, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.
16 “He 1athrives before the sun,
And his bshoots spread out over his garden.
17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He 1grasps a house of stones.
18 “If he is 1removed from ahis place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘bI never saw you.’
19 “Behold, athis is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
20 “Lo, aGod will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor bwill He 1support the evildoers.
21 “He will yet fill ayour mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.
22 “Those who hate you will be aclothed with shame,
And the btent of the wicked will be no longer.”