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Job: My Suffering Is Endless

“Is there not a time of hard service for a man upon earth?
    Are not his days also like the days of a hired worker?
Like a servant, he longs for the shade,
    and like a hired worker, he looks for his wages,
so I have been assigned months of futility,
    and nights of trouble have been appointed to me.
When I lie down, I say,
    ‘When will I arise and the night be ended?’
    And I am full of restlessness until the dawn.
My flesh is covered with worms and caked with dirt;
    my skin is broken, and has become loathsome.

“My days fly more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle,
    and are spent without hope.
Oh, remember that my life is a breath!
    My eye will never again see good.
The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
    your eyes will be on me, but I will be no more.
As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
    so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more.
10 He will never return to his house,
    and his place will not recognize him anymore.

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.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
    that You set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then You scare me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions,
15 so that my soul chooses strangling,
    even death rather than my life.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever;
    let me alone, for my days are emptiness.

17 “What is man, that You should exalt him,
    and that You should set Your heart on him,
18 and that You should visit him every morning,
    and test him every moment?
19 How long until You look away from me?
    Will You not let me alone until I swallow my saliva?
20 Have I sinned? What am I doing to You,
    O You watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
    so that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why do You not pardon my transgression
    and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
    and You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.”

“Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(H)
My body is clothed with worms(I) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.(J)

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(K)
    and they come to an end without hope.(L)
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(M)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.(N)
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.(O)
As a cloud vanishes(P) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave(Q) does not return.(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place(S) will know him no more.(T)

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(U)
    I will speak out in the anguish(V) of my spirit,
    I will complain(W) in the bitterness of my soul.(X)
12 Am I the sea,(Y) or the monster of the deep,(Z)
    that you put me under guard?(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify(AC) me with visions,(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(AE)
    rather than this body of mine.(AF)
16 I despise my life;(AG) I would not live forever.(AH)
    Let me alone;(AI) my days have no meaning.(AJ)

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning(AL)
    and test them(AM) every moment?(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,(AO)
    or let me alone even for an instant?(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(AQ)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(AR)
    Have I become a burden to you?[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(AU)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(AV)

Footnotes

  1. Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.