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10 I am tired of living.
    Listen to my bitter complaint.
Don't condemn me, God.
    Tell me! What is the charge against me?
Is it right for you to be so cruel?
    To despise what you yourself have made?
    And then to smile on the schemes of wicked people?
Do you see things as we do?
    Is your life as short as ours?
Then why do you track down all my sins
    and hunt down every fault I have?
(A)You know that I am not guilty,
    that no one can save me from you.

Your hands formed and shaped me,
    and now[a] those same hands destroy me.
Remember that you made me from clay;[b]
    are you going to crush me back to dust?
10 (B)You gave my father strength to beget me;
    you made me grow in my mother's womb.
11 You formed my body with bones and sinews
    and covered the bones with muscles and skin.
12 You have given me life and constant love,
    and your care has kept me alive.
13 But now I know that all that time
    you were secretly planning to harm me.
14 You were watching to see if I would sin,
    so that you could refuse to forgive me.
15 As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you,
    but when I do right, I get no credit.
I am miserable and covered with shame.[c]
16 If I have any success at all,
    you hunt me down like a lion;
    to hurt me you even work miracles.
17 You always have some witness against me;
    your anger toward me grows and grows;
    you always plan some new attack.

18 Why, God, did you let me be born?
    I should have died before anyone saw me.
19 To go from the womb straight to the grave
    would have been as good as never existing.
20 Isn't my life almost over? Leave me alone!
    Let me enjoy the time I have left.
21 I am going soon and will never come back—
    going to a land that is dark and gloomy,
22     a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion,
    where the light itself is darkness.

Footnotes

  1. Job 10:8 Some ancient translations and now; Hebrew together.
  2. Job 10:9 One ancient translation from clay; Hebrew like clay.
  3. Job 10:15 Probable text covered with shame; Hebrew see my shame.

10 “I’m sick of living.
    So I’ll talk openly about my problems.
    I’ll speak out because my spirit is bitter.
I say to God, ‘Don’t find me guilty.
    Instead, tell me what charges
    you are bringing against me.
Does it make you happy when you crush me?
    Does it please you to turn your back on what you have made?
While you do those things,
    you smile on the plans of sinful people!
You don’t have human eyes.
    You don’t see as people see.
Your days aren’t like the days of a mere human being.
    Your years aren’t even like the years of a strong man.
So you search for my mistakes.
    You look for my sin.
You already know I’m not guilty.
    No one can save me from your power.

“ ‘Your hands shaped me and made me.
    So are you going to destroy me now?
Remember, you molded me like clay.
    So are you going to turn me back into dust?
10 Didn’t you pour me out like milk?
    Didn’t you form me like cheese?
11 Didn’t you put skin and flesh on me?
    Didn’t you sew me together with bones and muscles?
12 You gave me life. You were kind to me.
    You took good care of me. You watched over me.

13 “ ‘But here’s what you hid in your heart.
    Here’s what you had on your mind.
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me.
    You wouldn’t let me go without punishing me.
15 If I were guilty, how terrible that would be for me!
    Even if I haven’t sinned,
    I can’t be proud of what I’ve done.
That’s because I’m so full of shame.
    I’m drowning in my suffering.
16 If I become proud, you hunt me down like a lion.
    You show your mighty power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me.
    You become more and more angry with me.
    You use your power against me again and again.

18 “ ‘Why did you bring me out of my mother’s body?
    I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I’d never been born!
    I wish I’d been carried straight from my mother’s body to the grave!
20 Aren’t my few days almost over?
    Leave me so I can have a moment of joy.
21 Turn away before I go to the place I can’t return from.
    It’s the land of gloom and total darkness.
22 It’s the land of darkest night
    and total darkness and disorder.
    There even the light is like darkness.’ ”