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Job 7
English Standard Version
Job 7
English Standard Version
Job Continues: My Life Has No Hope
7 “Has not man (A)a hard service on earth,
and are not his (B)days like the days of a hired hand?
2 Like a slave who longs for (C)the shadow,
and like (D)a hired hand who looks for his (E)wages,
3 so I am allotted months of (F)emptiness,
(G)and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4 (H)When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’
But the night is long,
and I toss and turn till the dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with (I)worms and (J)dirt;
my skin hardens, then (K)breaks out afresh.
6 My days are (L)swifter than (M)a weaver's shuttle
and come to their end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is a (N)breath;
my eye will never again see good.
8 (O)The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
while your eyes are on me, (P)I shall be gone.
9 As (Q)the cloud fades and vanishes,
so he who (R)goes down to Sheol does not come up;
10 he (S)returns no more to his house,
nor does his (T)place know him anymore.
11 “Therefore I will not (U)restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will (V)complain in (W)the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or (X)a sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
13 (Y)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 I would choose strangling
and death rather than my (Z)bones.
16 I (AA)loathe my life; I would not live forever.
(AB)Leave me alone, for my days are (AC)a breath.
17 (AD)What is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
18 (AE)visit him every morning
and (AF)test him every moment?
19 How long will you not (AG)look away from me,
nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
Why have you made me (AH)your mark?
Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in (AI)the earth;
you will (AJ)seek me, (AK)but I shall not be.”
Job 7
New International Version
Job 7
New International Version
7 “Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
4 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)
5 My body is clothed with worms(I) and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.(J)
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(K)
and they come to an end without hope.(L)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(M)
my eyes will never see happiness again.(N)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.(O)
9 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
- 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.
Job 7
Expanded Bible
Job 7
Expanded Bible
7 “·People have [L Do not people have…?] a hard ·task [service] on earth,
and their days are like those of a [L hired] laborer [C hard work with little profit].
2 They are like a ·slave [servant] ·wishing [L panting] for the evening shadows,
like a [L hired] laborer waiting to be paid.
3 But I ·am given [L inherit] months that are ·empty [vain; futile],
and nights of ·misery [or toil] have been ·given [L allotted] to me.
4 When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’
The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
5 My body is covered with worms and ·scabs [L clods of dust/dirt],
and my skin ·is broken and full of sores [L crusts over and oozes].
6 “My days go by faster than a weaver’s ·tool [shuttle],
and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember, God, that my life is only a breath.
My eyes will never see happy times again.
8 ·Those who [L The eyes that] see me now will see me no more;
you will look for me, but I will ·be gone [L be no more; not exist].
9 As a cloud ·disappears [fades] and is gone,
people go to ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] and never return.
10 They will never come back to their houses again,
and their places will not know them anymore.
11 “So I will not ·stay quiet [L restrain my mouth];
I will speak out in the ·suffering [distress; L pinch] of my spirit.
I will ·complain [groan] ·because I am so unhappy [L in the bitterness of my soul].
12 ·I am not [L Am I…?] ·the sea [L Yam] or ·the sea monster [L Tannin; C Yam and Tannin are legendary sea monsters representing chaos].
·So why have you […that you] set a guard over me?
13 Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me
or that my couch will ·stop my complaint [ease my groans].
14 Then you ·frighten [terrorize] me with dreams
and ·terrify [scare] me with visions.
15 My throat prefers to be choked;
my bones welcome death.
16 I ·hate [L reject] my life; I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.
17 “Why do you make people so important
and ·give them so much attention [L set your heart on them; C contrast Ps. 8:4]?
18 You ·examine [visit] them every morning
and test them ·every moment [all the time].
19 Will you never look away from me
or leave me alone even long enough to swallow [L my saliva]?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
you watcher of humans?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a ·heavy load [burden] for you?
21 Why don’t you ·pardon [forgive] my ·wrongs [transgressions]
and ·forgive my sins [carry away my guilt]?
I will soon lie down in the dust of death.
Then you will ·search [look] for me, but I will be no more.”
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.