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10 “I hate my own life, so I will complain freely.
    I am very bitter, so now I will speak.
I will say to God, ‘Don’t just say I am guilty!
    Tell me what you have against me.
Do you enjoy hurting me?
    Do you enjoy ignoring me while smiling at what evil people say?
Do you have human eyes?
    Do you see things the way people do?
Is your life as short as ours?
    Is your life as short as a man’s life?
You look for my wrong
    and search for my sin.
You know I am innocent,
    but no one can save me from your power!
Your hands made me and shaped my body.
    But now they are closing around me and squeezing me to death!
Remember, you molded me like clay.
    Will you turn me into clay again?
10 You poured me out like milk.
    You spun me around and squeezed me like someone making cheese.
11 You put me together with bones and muscles,
    and then you clothed me with skin and flesh.
12 You gave me life and were very kind to me.
    You cared for me and watched over my spirit.
13 But this is what you hid in your heart.
    Now I know what you were planning for me.
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me
    so that you could punish me for doing wrong.
15 If I sin, I am guilty
    and should be cursed.
But even when I am innocent,
    I cannot lift up my head.
I am so ashamed
    because of all the troubles I have.
16 If I have any success and feel proud,
    you hunt me down like a lion
    and show your power over me.
17 You bring witness after witness
    to prove that I am wrong.
Again and again you show your anger
    as you send army after army against me.
18 So why did you let me be born?
    I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I had never lived.
    I wish they had carried me from my mother’s womb straight to the grave.
20 My life is almost finished.
    So leave me alone!
    Let me enjoy the little time I have left.
21 I am going soon to the land of no return,
    the place of death and darkness—
22 that land of darkest night, of shadows and confusion,
    where even the light is darkness.’”

10 “I loathe my very life;(A)
    therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
    and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.(B)
I say to God:(C) Do not declare me guilty,
    but tell me what charges(D) you have against me.(E)
Does it please you to oppress me,(F)
    to spurn the work of your hands,(G)
    while you smile on the plans of the wicked?(H)
Do you have eyes of flesh?
    Do you see as a mortal sees?(I)
Are your days like those of a mortal
    or your years like those of a strong man,(J)
that you must search out my faults
    and probe after my sin(K)
though you know that I am not guilty(L)
    and that no one can rescue me from your hand?(M)

“Your hands shaped(N) me and made me.
    Will you now turn and destroy me?(O)
Remember that you molded me like clay.(P)
    Will you now turn me to dust again?(Q)
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh
    and knit me together(R) with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life(S) and showed me kindness,(T)
    and in your providence(U) watched over(V) my spirit.

13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
    and I know that this was in your mind:(W)
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me(X)
    and would not let my offense go unpunished.(Y)
15 If I am guilty(Z)—woe to me!(AA)
    Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,(AB)
for I am full of shame
    and drowned in[a] my affliction.(AC)
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion(AD)
    and again display your awesome power against me.(AE)
17 You bring new witnesses against me(AF)
    and increase your anger toward me;(AG)
    your forces come against me wave upon wave.(AH)

18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?(AI)
    I wish I had died before any eye saw me.(AJ)
19 If only I had never come into being,
    or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!(AK)
20 Are not my few days(AL) almost over?(AM)
    Turn away from me(AN) so I can have a moment’s joy(AO)
21 before I go to the place of no return,(AP)
    to the land of gloom and utter darkness,(AQ)
22 to the land of deepest night,
    of utter darkness(AR) and disorder,
    where even the light is like darkness.”(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Job 10:15 Or and aware of