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10 “My soul is weary of my life.
    I will give free course to my complaint.
    I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will tell God, ‘Do not condemn me.
    Show me why you contend with me.
Is it good to you that you should oppress,
    that you should despise the work of your hands,
    and smile on the counsel of the wicked?
Do you have eyes of flesh?
    Or do you see as man sees?
Are your days as the days of mortals,
    or your years as man’s years,
that you inquire after my iniquity,
    and search after my sin?
Although you know that I am not wicked,
    there is no one who can deliver out of your hand.

“‘Your hands have framed me and fashioned me altogether,
    yet you destroy me.
Remember, I beg you, that you have fashioned me as clay.
    Will you bring me into dust again?
10 Haven’t you 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 loving kindness.
    Your visitation has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet you hid these things in your heart.
    I know that this is with you:
14 if I sin, then you mark me.
    You will not acquit me from my iniquity.
15 If I am wicked, woe to me.
    If I am righteous, I still will not lift up my head,
    being filled with disgrace,
    and conscious of my affliction.
16 If my head is held high, you hunt me like a lion.
    Again you show yourself powerful to me.
17 You renew your witnesses against me,
    and increase your indignation on me.
    Changes and warfare are with me.

18 “‘Why, then, have you brought me out of the womb?
    I wish I had given up the spirit, and no eye had seen me.
19 I should have been as though I had not been.
    I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20 Aren’t my days few?
    Stop!
Leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,
21     before I go where I will not return from,
    to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;
22 the land dark as midnight,
    of the shadow of death,
    without any order,
    where the light is as midnight.’”

Job Continues: A Plea to God

10 “I (A)loathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my (B)complaint;
    I will speak in (C)the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God, Do not (D)condemn me;
    let me know why you (E)contend against me.
(F)Does it seem good to you to oppress,
    to despise (G)the work of your hands
    (H)and favor the designs of the wicked?
Have you (I)eyes of flesh?
    (J)Do you see as man sees?
Are your days as the days of man,
    or your (K)years as a man's years,
that you (L)seek out my iniquity
    and search for my sin,
although you (M)know that I am not guilty,
    and there is (N)none to deliver out of your hand?
(O)Your hands fashioned and made me,
    and now you have destroyed me altogether.
Remember that you have made me like (P)clay;
    and will you return me to the (Q)dust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
    and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
    and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you hid in your heart;
    I know that (R)this was your purpose.
14 If I sin, you (S)watch me
    and do not (T)acquit me of my iniquity.
15 (U)If I am guilty, woe to me!
    If I am (V)in the right, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
    and (W)look on my affliction.
16 And were my head lifted up,[a] you would hunt me like (X)a lion
    and again work (Y)wonders against me.
17 You renew your (Z)witnesses against me
    and increase your vexation toward me;
    you (AA)bring fresh troops against me.

18 (AB)“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
    Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
19 (AC)and were as though I had not been,
    carried from the womb to the grave.
20 (AD)Are not my days few?
    (AE)Then cease, and leave me alone, (AF)that I may find a little cheer
21 before I go—and (AG)I shall not return—
    to the land of (AH)darkness and (AI)deep shadow,
22 the land of gloom like thick darkness,
    like deep shadow without any order,
    where light is as thick darkness.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 10:16 Hebrew lacks my head

Job continues to speak

10 I do not want to live any longer.
I must continue to complain.
I am very upset and I have to speak about it.

This is what I will say to God:

“Do not say that I am guilty.
    Tell me what bad things you think I have done.
Your own hands created me.
    So you should not be cruel to me. It is not right.
Instead, you are kind to wicked people.
    You help them to do the bad things that they want to do.
Do you see things as people see them?
    Are your eyes only like human eyes?[a]
Is your life like a human life?
    It is surely not as short as that!
So why do you want to discover all my sins?
    Why do you hurry to do that?
You know that I am not guilty.
    But you also know that no one can save me from your power.

Your own hands have made me who I am.
    But now you are completely destroying me.
Remember that you made me,
    like someone who uses clay to make things.
Will you now make me become dust again?
10 You poured me like milk into my mother.
There you put my body together,
    like milk that becomes cheese.
11 You joined my bones together,
    and you covered them with skin.
12 You gave me life and you loved me faithfully.
    You took care of me and you kept me safe.
13 But now I know what you have been thinking.
    I have discovered your secret.
14 You were watching me to see if I did wrong things.
    Then you would refuse to forgive me.
15 If I am guilty of sin,
    that brings terrible trouble to me.
But if I am righteous,
    I still feel ashamed.
Whatever I do, I have nothing but shame
    and my life is full of trouble.
16 If I try to be brave,
    you chase me like a hungry lion.
    You show your power to hurt me.
17 You find more reasons to attack me.
You become more and more angry with me.
    You attack me with even greater power.

18 Why did you let me be born?
    I should have died before anyone saw me.
19 It would have been better if I had not been born.
Or they should have put me in my grave,
    immediately after my birth.
20 I will only live for a few more days.
    So leave me alone! Then I may be happy for a moment.
21 I will soon go to the dark place where there is no hope.
    I will never come back from that place.
22 I will go to that very dark place where there are only shadows.
    In that place, it is still dark when the light shines. ” ’

Footnotes

  1. 10:4 Job is asking God if he really sees what is true. Perhaps God is making a mistake when he says that Job is guilty.