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Chapter 10

Tell Me Why![a]

“I loathe my very life;
    therefore I will give free rein to my complaints
    and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say to God: ‘Do not condemn me,
    but simply let me know what is your charge against me.
Do you get any joy in oppressing me,
    spurning the work of your own hands
    while approving the schemes of the wicked?
“ ‘Do you have eyes of flesh?
    Do you see as a mortal sees?
Are your days like those of a mortal,
    or your years like those of a man,
that you investigate my iniquity
    and keep a record of my sins,
even though you know that I am innocent
    and have no one to rescue me from your hand?

I Realize What Was Your Intent[b]

“ ‘Your hands created and fashioned me;
    will you now turn away and destroy me?
Remember that you fashioned me like clay;
    will you now reduce me again to 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 given me life and kindness,
    and in your providence you have preserved my spirit.
13 Yet within your heart you had a secret plan,
    and I realize what was your intent:
14 you would be watching me,
    and if I sinned, you would not absolve me of my guilt.
15 “ ‘Woe to me if I should be wicked.
    Even if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head,
for I am filled with shame
    and bent over with affliction.
16 Should I lift up my head, you hunt me like a proud lion,
    confronting me time and again with your awesome power.
17 You renew your onslaughts against me,
    your fury increasing incessantly
    as fresh troops assail me wave after wave.

Let Me Alone So That I May Have a Few Moments of Happiness

18 “ ‘Why did you bring me forth from the womb?
    It would have been better if I had died
    before an eye had beheld me,
19 and had been carried from the womb to the grave
    as though I had never existed.
20 Do I not have but a few remaining days of life?
    Let me alone so that I may have a few moments of happiness
21 before I go to the place of no return,
    to the land of gloom and darkness,
22 to the land of deepest night,
    a land of gloom and disorder,
    where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Job 10:1 Job multiplies questions in attempting to achieve some understanding of God’s conduct.
  2. Job 10:8 The question is posed: what relation exists between God’s love and his justice on earth in regard to human beings?

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