Job 10
Lexham English Bible
Job Continues His Response to Bildad
10 “My inner self[a] loathes my life;
I want to give vent to my complaint;[b]
I want to speak out of the bitterness of my inner self.[c]
2 I will say to God, ‘You should not condemn me;
let me know why you contend against me.
3 Is it good for you that you oppress,
that you despise the labor of your hands,
and you smile over the schemes of the wicked?
4 Do you have eyes of flesh?[d]
Or do you see as human beings see?[e]
5 Are your days as the days of human beings,
or your years as the days of man,
6 that you seek out my iniquity,
and you search for my sin
7 because of your knowledge that I am not guilty,
and there is no escaping from your hand?
8 Your hands fashioned me and made me[f] altogether,[g]
then[h] you destroyed me.
9 Please[i] remember that you made me like clay,
but[j] you turn me into dust again?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me[k] like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and you knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and loyal love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 “‘Yet[l] you hid these things in your heart;
I know that this was your purpose.[m]
14 If I had sinned, then[n] you would be watching me,
and you would not acquit me of my guilt.
15 If I am guilty, woe to me!
But[o] if I am righteous, I dare not lift my head;
I am filled with shame, and just look at my misery!
16 And if my head grows bold, you would hunt me as the lion in its prime;
and you repeat your exploits against me.[p]
17 You renew your witnesses against me,
and you increase your vexation against me;
relief forces[q] are against me.
18 So[r] why did you bring me forth from the womb?
I should have passed away, and no eye should have seen me.[s]
19 I should have been as though I had not been;
I should have been brought from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? Let him leave me alone;
let him turn from me, and let me rejoice a little.
21 Before I go—and I will not return—
to the land of darkness and deep shadow,
22 to the land of darkness,
like the darkness of a deep shadow and chaos,[t]
so that[u] it shines forth like darkness.’”
Footnotes
- Job 10:1 Or “soul”
- Job 10:1 Literally “I want to let go upon me my complaint”
- Job 10:1 Or “soul”
- Job 10:4 Literally “Are eyes of flesh for you”
- Job 10:4 Literally “as seeing of human beings you see”
- Job 10:8 Hebrew “they made me”
- Job 10:8 Literally “together all around”
- Job 10:8 Or “and”
- Job 10:9 Or an untranslatable particle expressing urgency
- Job 10:9 Hebrew “and”
- Job 10:10 Literally “you did curdle me”
- Job 10:13 Hebrew “And”
- Job 10:13 Literally “was with you”
- Job 10:14 Hebrew “and”
- Job 10:15 Hebrew “And”
- Job 10:16 Literally “and you do again you display marvelous powers against me”
- Job 10:17 Literally “substitute and forces”
- Job 10:18 Hebrew “And”
- Job 10:18 Literally “and an eye should not have seen me”
- Job 10:22 Literally “and not order”
- Job 10:22 Or “and”
Job 10
New Living Translation
Job Frames His Plea to God
10 “I am disgusted with my life.
Let me complain freely.
My bitter soul must complain.
2 I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me—
tell me the charge you are bringing against me.
3 What do you gain by oppressing me?
Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands,
while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?
4 Are your eyes like those of a human?
Do you see things only as people see them?
5 Is your lifetime only as long as ours?
Is your life so short
6 that you must quickly probe for my guilt
and search for my sin?
7 Although you know I am not guilty,
no one can rescue me from your hands.
8 “‘You formed me with your hands; you made me,
yet now you completely destroy me.
9 Remember that you made me from dust—
will you turn me back to dust so soon?
10 You guided my conception
and formed me in the womb.[a]
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and you knit my bones and sinews together.
12 You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love.
My life was preserved by your care.
13 “‘Yet your real motive—
your true intent—
14 was to watch me, and if I sinned,
you would not forgive my guilt.
15 If I am guilty, too bad for me;
and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high,
because I am filled with shame and misery.
16 And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion
and display your awesome power against me.
17 Again and again you witness against me.
You pour out your growing anger on me
and bring fresh armies against me.
18 “‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb?
Why didn’t you let me die at birth?
19 It would be as though I had never existed,
going directly from the womb to the grave.
20 I have only a few days left, so leave me alone,
that I may have a moment of comfort
21 before I leave—never to return—
for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
22 It is a land as dark as midnight,
a land of gloom and confusion,
where even the light is dark as midnight.’”
Footnotes
- 10:10 Hebrew You poured me out like milk / and curdled me like cheese.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
