Job 10
Amplified Bible
Job Despairs of God’s Dealings
10 “I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!
I will give free expression to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2
“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!
Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.
3
‘Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress,
To despise and reject the work of Your hands,
And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?
4
‘Do You have eyes of flesh?
Do You see as a man sees?
5
‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Are Your years as man’s years,
6
That You seek my guilt
And search for my sin?
7
‘Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked,
Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.
8
‘Your hands have formed and made me altogether.
Would You [turn around and] destroy me?
9
‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?
10
‘Have You not poured me out like milk
And curdled me like cheese?
11
‘[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews.
12
‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your providence (divine care, supervision) has preserved my spirit.
13
‘Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]:
I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].
14
‘If I sin, then You would take note and observe me,
And You would not acquit me of my guilt.
15
‘If I am wicked, woe to me [for judgment comes]!
And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
For I am sated and filled with disgrace and the sight of my misery.
16
‘Should I lift my head up, You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your marvelous power against me.
17
‘You renew Your witnesses against me
And increase Your indignation and anger toward me;
Hardship after hardship is with me [attacking me time after time].
18
‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!
19
‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’
20
“Would He not let my few days alone,
Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer
21
Before I go—and I shall not return—
To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],
22
The [sunless] land of utter gloom as darkness itself,
[The land] of the shadow of death, without order,
And [where] it shines as [thick] darkness.”
Job 10
The Message
To Find Some Skeleton in My Closet
10 “I can’t stand my life—I hate it!
I’m putting it all out on the table,
all the bitterness of my life—I’m holding back nothing.”
2-7 Job prayed:
“Here’s what I want to say:
Don’t, God, bring in a verdict of guilty
without letting me know the charges you’re bringing.
How does this fit into what you once called ‘good’—
giving me a hard time, spurning me,
a life you shaped by your very own hands,
and then blessing the plots of the wicked?
You don’t look at things the way we mortals do.
You’re not taken in by appearances, are you?
Unlike us, you’re not working against a deadline.
You have all eternity to work things out.
So what’s this all about, anyway—this compulsion
to dig up some dirt, to find some skeleton in my closet?
You know good and well I’m not guilty.
You also know no one can help me.
8-12 “You made me like a handcrafted piece of pottery—
and now are you going to smash me to pieces?
Don’t you remember how beautifully you worked my clay?
Will you reduce me now to a mud pie?
Oh, that marvel of conception as you stirred together
semen and ovum—
What a miracle of skin and bone,
muscle and brain!
You gave me life itself, and incredible love.
You watched and guarded every breath I took.
13-17 “But you never told me about this part.
I should have known that there was more to it—
That if I so much as missed a step, you’d notice and pounce,
wouldn’t let me get by with a thing.
If I’m truly guilty, I’m doomed.
But if I’m innocent, it’s no better—I’m still doomed.
My belly is full of bitterness.
I’m up to my ears in a swamp of affliction.
I try to make the best of it, try to brave it out,
but you’re too much for me,
relentless, like a lion on the prowl.
You line up fresh witnesses against me.
You compound your anger
and pile on the grief and pain!
18-22 “So why did you have me born?
I wish no one had ever laid eyes on me!
I wish I’d never lived—a stillborn,
buried without ever having breathed.
Isn’t it time to call it quits on my life?
Can’t you let up, and let me smile just once
Before I die and am buried,
before I’m nailed into my coffin, sealed in the ground,
And banished for good to the land of the dead,
blind in the final dark?”
Job 10
New American Standard Bible
Job Despairs of God’s Dealings
10 “[a](A)I am disgusted with my own life;
I will express (B)my complaint freely;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, ‘(C)Do not condemn me;
Let me know why You contend with me.
3 Is it [b]right for You indeed to (D)oppress,
To reject (E)the work of Your hands,
And [c]to look favorably on (F)the plan of the wicked?
4 Do You have eyes of flesh?
Or do You (G)see as mankind sees?
5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal,
Or (H)Your years like a man’s year,
6 That (I)You should search for my guilt
And carefully seek my sin?
7 According to Your knowledge (J)I am indeed not guilty,
Yet there is (K)no one to save me from Your hand.
8 ‘(L)Your hands fashioned and made me [d]altogether,
(M)Yet would You destroy me?
9 Remember that You have made me as (N)clay;
Yet would You (O)turn me into dust again?
10 Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And intertwine me with bones and tendons?
12 You have (P)granted me life and [e]goodness;
And Your care has guarded my spirit.
13 Yet You have concealed (Q)these things in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:
14 If I have sinned, You will (R)take note of me,
And (S)will not acquit me of my guilt.
15 If (T)I am wicked, woe to me!
But if (U)I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am full of shame, and [f]conscious of my misery.
16 And should my head be high, (V)You would hunt me like a lion;
And You would show Your (W)power against me again.
17 You renew (X)Your witnesses against me
And increase Your anger toward me;
[g](Y)Hardship after hardship is with me.
18 ‘(Z)Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
If only I had died and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been,
Brought from womb to tomb.’
20 Would He not leave (AA)my few days alone?
[h](AB)Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness
21 Before I go—(AC)and I shall not return—
(AD)To the land of darkness and (AE)deep shadow,
22 The land of utter gloom like darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And it shines like darkness.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.