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“Is there not an appointed time for man upon Earth? And are not his days as the days of a hired servant?

“As a servant longs for the shade, and as a hireling looks for the end of his work,

“so I have inherited months of emptiness. And painful nights have been appointed to me.

“If I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, and the night be over?’ For I’ve had enough of tossing to and fro until dawn.

“My flesh is clothed with worms and filthiness of the dust. My skin is broken and has become loathsome.

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle. And they are spent without hope.

“Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye shall not return to see pleasure.

“The eye that has seen me, shall see me no more. Your eyes are upon me, and I shall be no longer.

“As the cloud vanishes and goes away, so he who goes down to the grave shall come up no more.

10 “He shall return no more to his house. Nor shall his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth, but will speak in the trouble of my spirit, and muse in the bitterness of my mind.

12 “Am I a sea or a dragon, that You keep me under guard?

13 “When I say, ‘My couch shall relieve me. My bed shall bring comfort in my meditation,’

14 “then You scare me with dreams, and astonish me with visions.

15 “Therefore, my soul chooses to be strangled and to die, rather than to be in my bones.

16 “I abhor it. I would not live forever. Spare me, then. For my days are without meaning.

17 “What is man, that You magnify him, and that You set Your Heart upon him,

18 “and visit him every morning, and test him every moment?

19 “How long will it be before You depart from me? You will not leave me alone while I can swallow my spittle.

20 “I have sinned. What did I do to You, O You, Preserver of men? Why have You set me against Yourself, so that I am a burden to myself?

21 “And why do You not pardon my trespass, and take away my iniquity? For now, I shall sleep in the dust. And if You seek me in the morning, I shall no longer 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.