Job 10
English Standard Version
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.
2 I will say to God, Do not (D)condemn me;
let me know why you (E)contend against me.
3 (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?
4 Have you (I)eyes of flesh?
(J)Do you see as man sees?
5 Are your days as the days of man,
or your (K)years as a man's years,
6 that you (L)seek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
7 although you (M)know that I am not guilty,
and there is (N)none to deliver out of your hand?
8 (O)Your hands fashioned and made me,
and now you have destroyed me altogether.
9 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
- Job 10:16 Hebrew lacks my head
Job 10
International Children’s Bible
10 “I hate my own life.
So I will complain without holding back.
And I will speak because I am so unhappy.
2 I will say to God: Do not hold me guilty.
But tell me what you have against me.
3 Does it make you happy to trouble me?
Don’t you care about me, the work of your own hands?
Are you happy with the plans of evil people?
4 Do you have human eyes?
Do you see as a man sees?
5 Are your days like the days of man?
Are your years like the years of a man?
6 You look for evil I have done
and search for my sin.
7 But you know I am not guilty.
And you know no one can save me from your power.
8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.
But now you turn around and destroy me.
9 Remember that you molded me like a piece of clay.
Now will you turn me back into dust?
10 You formed me in my mother’s womb
as cheese is formed from milk.
11 You put skin and flesh on me like clothing.
You sewed me together with bones and muscles.
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness.
And in your care you watched over my life.
13 “But in your heart you hid other plans.
I know this is what was in your mind:
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me.
You would not let my sin go unpunished.
15 How terrible it will be for me if I am guilty!
But even if I am right, I cannot lift my head.
I am full of shame.
It is as if I am drowning in my pain.
16 If I hold up my head, you hunt me like a lion.
And again you show your terrible power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me.
You increase your anger against me.
Your armies come against me like waves of the sea.
18 “So why did you allow me to be born?
I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I had never been born.
Or I wish I had been carried straight from birth to the grave!
20 My few days of life are almost over.
Leave me alone so I can have a moment of joy.
21 Soon I will leave and not return.
I will go to the land of darkness and gloom.
22 It is the land of darkest night.
It is the land of gloom and confusion.
Even the light is darkness there.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
