Job 7
Complete Jewish Bible
7 “Human life on earth is like serving in the army;
yes, we drudge through our days like a hired worker,
2 like a slave longing for shade,
like a worker thinking only of his wages.
3 So I am assigned months of meaninglessness;
troubled nights are my lot.
4 When I lie down, I ask,
‘When can I get up?’
But the night is long, and I keep tossing
to and fro until daybreak.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt,
my skin forms scabs that ooze pus.
6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle
and come to their end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never again see good times.
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no more;
while your eyes are on me, I will be gone.
9 Like a cloud dissolving and disappearing,
so he who descends to Sh’ol won’t come back up.
10 He will not return again to his house,
and his home will know him no more.
11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth
but will speak in my anguish of spirit
and complain in my bitterness of soul.
12 Am I the sea, or some sea monster,
that you put a guard over me?
13 When I think that my bed will comfort me,
that my couch will relieve my complaint,
14 then you terrify me with dreams
and frighten me with visions.
15 I would rather be strangled;
death would be better than these bones of mine.
16 I hate it! I won’t live forever,
so leave me alone, for my life means nothing.
17 “What are mere mortals, that you make so much of them?
Why do you keep them on your mind?
18 Why examine them every morning
and test them every moment?
19 Won’t you ever take your eyes off of me,
at least long enough for me to swallow my spit?
20 “Suppose I do sin — how do I harm you,
you scrutinizer of humanity?
Why have you made me your target,
so that I am a burden to you?
21 Why don’t you pardon my offense
and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust;
you will seek me, but I will be gone.”
Job 7
EasyEnglish Bible
Job continues to speak
7 People have to work very hard on this earth.
They have to work every day, like servants.
2 A servant waits for the end of the day so that he can rest.
A worker waits for his master to pay him.
3 But there is nothing for me to wait for.
I wait for many months and nothing happens.
Every night, I am always sad.
4 When I lie down at night to sleep,
I think, “How soon will the night end?”
But the night continues and I cannot sleep.
Finally, dawn comes.
5 There are worms all over my body.
All of my skin is painful.
There are dirty sores all over it.
6 My life is passing very fast.
Each day passes too quickly to see it!
The days of my life will finish,
and I cannot hope for anything to get better.
7 Remember, God, that my life is as short as a breath.
I know that I will never be happy again.
8 People who can see me now will not see me any more.
You will look for me, but I will not be there.
9 Clouds disappear and you never see them again.
That is like people who die and go into their graves.
They do not come back again.
10 They do not come back to live in their homes.
People forget about them.
11 So I must continue to speak.
I will tell you how upset I am.
I am angry because of what has happened to me.
So I must complain.
12 Why do you have to watch me, God, like a guard?
Do you think that I am a dangerous monster from the sea?
13 When I lie down to sleep,
I hope that my pain will be less.
14 But even then you give me dreams that frighten me.
I have visions which make me very afraid.
15 I would like someone to stop me breathing!
Death would be better than life.
16 My life is useless.
I do not want to live for ever.
My life is only a short breath.
So let me be alone.
17 Why do you think that people are important?
Why do you watch us so carefully?
18 You never leave us alone.
You test us every moment of every day.
19 You never look the other way.
You never leave me alone, even for a moment.
20 You carefully watch what people do.
Even if I have done something wrong,
it should not cause any trouble for you.
So why do you choose to punish me?
21 You should agree to forgive my sins.
You should say that I am not guilty.
I will soon die and I will go into my grave.
Then you will carefully look for me,
but I will not be there.’
Job 7
King James Version
7 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaints;
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.