Job 13:20-14:6

New Living Translation

Job Asks How He Has Sinned

²⁰“O God, grant me these two things,
    and then I will be able to face you.
²¹Remove your heavy hand from me,
    and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence.
²²Now summon me, and I will answer!
    Or let me speak to you, and you reply.
²³Tell me, what have I done wrong?
    Show me my rebellion and my sin.
²⁴Why do you turn away from me?
    Why do you treat me as your enemy?
²⁵Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind?
    Would you chase dry straw?

²⁶“You write bitter accusations against me
    and bring up all the sins of my youth.
²⁷You put my feet in stocks.
    You examine all my paths.
    You trace all my footprints.
²⁸I waste away like rotting wood,
    like a moth-eaten coat.

14 “How frail is humanity!
    How short is life, how full of trouble!
²We blossom like a flower and then wither.
    Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
³Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature
    and demand an accounting from me?
⁴Who can bring purity out of an impure person?
    No one!
⁵You have decided the length of our lives.
    You know how many months we will live,
    and we are not given a minute longer.
⁶So leave us alone and let us rest!
    We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.