Job 7:1-21
7 “Is not the life of mortal man on earth like compulsory labor,And are not his days like those of a hired worker?+
2 Like a slave, he longs for the shadow,And like a hired worker, he waits for his wages.+
3 Thus I have been assigned months of futilityAnd nights of misery have been counted out for me.+
4 When I lie down I ask, ‘When will I get up?’+
But as the night drags on, I toss restlessly until the dawning of the day.*
5 My flesh is covered with maggots and clods of dirt;+My skin is full of scabs and pus.+
6 My days go by more quickly than a weaver’s shuttle,+And they come to an end without hope.+
7 Remember that my life is wind,+That my eye will never again see happiness.*
8 The eye that sees me now will see me no more;Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.+
9 Like a cloud that fades and vanishes,The one who goes down to the Grave* does not come back up.+
10 He will not return again to his house,And his place will acknowledge him no more.+
11 Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;I will complain in my bitter distress!*+
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster,That you should set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My couch will comfort me;My bed will help ease my misery,’
14 Then you terrify me with dreamsAnd frighten me with visions,
15 So that I* would choose suffocation,Yes, death rather than this body of mine.*+
16 I loathe my life;+ I do not want to go on living.
Leave me alone, for my days are like a breath.+
17 What is mortal man that you should concern yourself with himAnd fix your attention* on him?+
18 Why do you inspect him every morningAnd test him every moment?+
19 Will you not look away from meAnd leave me alone long enough to swallow my saliva?+
20 If I have sinned, how could I harm you, the Observer of mankind?+
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgressionAnd excuse my error?
For soon I will lie down in the dust,+And you will look for me, but I will be gone.”
Footnotes
^ Or “until morning twilight.”
^ Lit., “see good.”
^ Or “with bitterness of my soul!”
^ Or “my soul.”
^ Lit., “than my bones.”
^ Lit., “set your heart.”
