Job chapter 7
English Standard Version
1"Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand? 2Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, 3so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. 4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. 5My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh. 6My days are swifter than a weaver 's shuttle and come to their end without hope. 7"Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good. 8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone. 9As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up; 10he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know 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. 12Am 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,’ 14then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, 15so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones. 16I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. 17 What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, 18 visit him every morning and test him every moment? 19How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit? 20If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? 21Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be."
New International Version
1"Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? 2Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, 3so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. 4When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
5My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. 6"My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. 7Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. 8The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. 9As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return.
10He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more. 11"Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? 13When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, 14even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, 15so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.
16I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. 17"What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, 18that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? 19Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? 21Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more."
New American Standard Bible
1'Is a person not forced to labor on earth, And are his days not like the days of a hired worker? 2As a slave pants for the shade, And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages, 3So I am allotted worthless months, And nights of trouble are apportioned to me. 4When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn. 5My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and oozes. 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope. 7'Remember that my life is a mere breath; My eye will not see goodness again. 8The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist. 9When a cloud vanishes, it is gone; In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up. 10He will not return to his house again, Nor will his place know about 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. 12Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? 13If I say, ‘My couch will comfort me, My bed will ease my complaint,’ 14Then You frighten me with dreams, And terrify me by visions, 15So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains. 16I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath. 17What is man that You exalt him, And that You are concerned about him, 18That You examine him every morning And put him to the test every moment? 19 Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle? 20Have I sinned? What have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? 21Why then do You not forgive my wrongdoing And take away my guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will search for me, but I will no longer exist.'
Christian Standard Bible
1Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired worker? 2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired worker he waits for his pay. 3So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. 4When I lie down I think, "When will I get up?" But the evening drags on endlessly, and I toss and turn until dawn.
5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt. My skin forms scabs and then oozes. 6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. 7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. 8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. 9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again.
10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. 11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that you keep me under guard? 13When I say, "My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint," 14then you frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, 15so that I prefer strangling — death rather than life in this body.
16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. 17What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? 18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. 19Will you ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, Watcher of humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I have become a burden to you? 21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.
New Living Translation
1'Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand, 2like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid. 3I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery. 4Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. 5My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.
6'My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope. 7O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness. 8You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone. 9Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back. 10They are gone forever from their home — never to be seen again.
11'I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain. 12Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard? 13I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’ 14but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions. 15I would rather be strangled — rather die than suffer like this. 16I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.
17'What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? 18For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. 19Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow! 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you? 21Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.'
King James Version
10He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. 11Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
New King James Version
1“ Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? 2Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages, 3So I have been allotted months of futility, And wearisome nights have been appointed to me. 4 When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, And the night be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn. 5My flesh is caked with worms and dust, My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh. 6“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. 7Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. 8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. 9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. 10He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know 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 a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? 13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ 14Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, 15So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. 16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. 17“What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, 18That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? 19How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? 20Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? 21Why then 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 no longer be.”