Job 7

Chapter 7

Job’s Life Seems Futile

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,

³So 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,’

¹⁴Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

¹⁵So 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,

¹⁸That ^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.”