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Job 7
International Standard Version
Job 7
International Standard Version
Job Acknowledges the Brevity of Life
7 “Men have harsh servitude on earth, do they not?
His days are like those of a hired laborer, are they not?[a]
2 I’m like a servant who longs for the shade,
like a hired laborer who is looking for his wages.
3 Truly I’ve been allotted months of emptiness;
nights of trouble have been appointed for me.
4 “When I lie down I ask,
‘When will I wake up?’
But the night continues
and I keep tossing and turning until dawn.[b]
5 My skin[c] is covered with worms and clods of dirt;
my skin becomes rough and then breaks out afresh.
6 My days pass as swiftly as a hand-loom;
they come to their conclusion without hope.
7 Remember that my life is a breath;
my eyes won’t go back to seeing good things.[d]
8 The eyes of the one who sees me won’t see me anymore;
your eyes will look[e] for me
but I won’t be around![f]
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
the one who descends to the afterlife[g] doesn’t return.[h]
10 He doesn’t return again to his house,
and his place won’t recognize him anymore.”
Job Intends to Complain
11 “In addition, I won’t keep my opinion[i] to myself;
I’ll speak from my distressed spirit;
I’ll complain with my bitter soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that you keep watching me?
13 For I’ve said, ‘My bed will comfort me;
my couch will ease my burdens[j] while I complain.’
14 But then you scared me with dreams;
you terrified me with visions.
15 I would rather die by strangulation
than continue living.[k]
16 I hate the thought of living forever!
Leave me alone, because my days are pointless.”
Job Acknowledges Humankind’s Insignificance
17 “What is a human being, that you make so much of him;
that you set your affections on him,
18 visit him every morning,
and test him continually?
19 Why won’t you look away from me?
Why don’t you leave me alone so I can swallow my saliva?
20 So what if I sin? What have I done against you,
you observer of humankind?
Why have you made me your target?
Why burden yourself with me?
21 Why haven’t you pardoned my transgression
and taken away my iniquity?
Now I’m about to lie down in the dust.
You will seek me diligently,
but I won’t be around!”[l]
Footnotes
- Job 7:1 Or hireling
- Job 7:4 Or twilight
- Job 7:5 Or flesh
- Job 7:7 The Heb. lacks things
- Job 7:8 The Heb. lacks will look
- Job 7:8 The Heb. lacks around
- Job 7:9 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the dwelling place of the dead
- Job 7:9 Lit. doesn’t come back up
- Job 7:11 Lit. mouth
- Job 7:13 Or carry
- Job 7:15 Lit. my bones
- Job 7:21 The Heb. lacks around
Job 7
New International Version
Job 7
New International Version
7 “Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(G)
The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(H)
5 My body is clothed with worms(I) and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.(J)
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(K)
and they come to an end without hope.(L)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(M)
my eyes will never see happiness again.(N)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.(O)
9 As a cloud vanishes(P) and is gone,
so one who goes down to the grave(Q) does not return.(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
his place(S) will know him no more.(T)
11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(U)
I will speak out in the anguish(V) of my spirit,
I will complain(W) in the bitterness of my soul.(X)
12 Am I the sea,(Y) or the monster of the deep,(Z)
that you put me under guard?(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify(AC) me with visions,(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(AE)
rather than this body of mine.(AF)
16 I despise my life;(AG) I would not live forever.(AH)
Let me alone;(AI) my days have no meaning.(AJ)
17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
that you give them so much attention,(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning(AL)
and test them(AM) every moment?(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,(AO)
or let me alone even for an instant?(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(AQ)
you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(AR)
Have I become a burden to you?[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(AU)
you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(AV)
Footnotes
- Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.