Job 7
Expanded Bible
7 “·People have [L Do not people have…?] a hard ·task [service] on earth,
and their days are like those of a [L hired] laborer [C hard work with little profit].
2 They are like a ·slave [servant] ·wishing [L panting] for the evening shadows,
like a [L hired] laborer waiting to be paid.
3 But I ·am given [L inherit] months that are ·empty [vain; futile],
and nights of ·misery [or toil] have been ·given [L allotted] to me.
4 When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’
The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
5 My body is covered with worms and ·scabs [L clods of dust/dirt],
and my skin ·is broken and full of sores [L crusts over and oozes].
6 “My days go by faster than a weaver’s ·tool [shuttle],
and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember, God, that my life is only a breath.
My eyes will never see happy times again.
8 ·Those who [L The eyes that] see me now will see me no more;
you will look for me, but I will ·be gone [L be no more; not exist].
9 As a cloud ·disappears [fades] and is gone,
people go to ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld] and never return.
10 They will never come back to their houses again,
and their places will not know them anymore.
11 “So I will not ·stay quiet [L restrain my mouth];
I will speak out in the ·suffering [distress; L pinch] of my spirit.
I will ·complain [groan] ·because I am so unhappy [L in the bitterness of my soul].
12 ·I am not [L Am I…?] ·the sea [L Yam] or ·the sea monster [L Tannin; C Yam and Tannin are legendary sea monsters representing chaos].
·So why have you […that you] set a guard over me?
13 Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me
or that my couch will ·stop my complaint [ease my groans].
14 Then you ·frighten [terrorize] me with dreams
and ·terrify [scare] me with visions.
15 My throat prefers to be choked;
my bones welcome death.
16 I ·hate [L reject] my life; I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.
17 “Why do you make people so important
and ·give them so much attention [L set your heart on them; C contrast Ps. 8:4]?
18 You ·examine [visit] them every morning
and test them ·every moment [all the time].
19 Will you never look away from me
or leave me alone even long enough to swallow [L my saliva]?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
you watcher of humans?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a ·heavy load [burden] for you?
21 Why don’t you ·pardon [forgive] my ·wrongs [transgressions]
and ·forgive my sins [carry away my guilt]?
I will soon lie down in the dust of death.
Then you will ·search [look] for me, but I will be no more.”
Job 7
King James Version
7 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
2 As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaints;
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
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