7:1 “Does not man have hard service1 on earth?
Are not his days also
like the days of a hired man?2
7:2 Like a servant3 longing for the evening shadow,4
and like a hired man looking5 for his wages.6
7:3 Thus7 I have been made to inherit8
months of futility,9
and nights of sorrow10
have been appointed11 to me.
7:4 If I lie down, I say,12 ‘When will I arise?’,
and the night stretches on13
and I am full of tossing14 to and fro
unto the dawning of the day.
7:5 My body15 is clothed16 with worms17 and dirty scabs;18
my skin is broken19 and festering.
7:6 My days20 are swifter21 than a weaver’s shuttle22
and they come to an end without hope.23
7:7 Remember24 that my life is but a breath,
that25 my eyes will never again26 see happiness.
7:8 The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more;27
your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.28
7:9 As29 a cloud is dispersed and then disappears,30
so the one who goes down to the grave31
does not come up again.32
7:10 He returns no more to his house,
nor does his place33 know him34 any more.
Job Remonstrates With God
7:11 “Therefore,35 I will not refrain my mouth;36
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain37 in the bitterness of my soul.
7:12 Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep,38
that you must set39 a watch40 over me?
7:13 If41 I say,42 “My bed will comfort me,43
my couch will ease44 my complaint,”
7:14 then you scare me45 with dreams
and terrify46 me with47 visions,
7:15 so that I48 would prefer49 strangling,50
and51 death52 more53 than life.54
7:16 I loathe55 it;56 I would not live forever;
leave me alone,57 for my days are a vapor!58
Insignificance of Humans
7:17 “What is man59 that you make so much of him,60
and that you pay attention61 to him?
7:18 And that you visit62 him every morning,
7:19 Will you never65 look away from me,66
will you not let me alone67
long enough to swallow my spittle?
7:20 If68 I have sinned—what have I done to you,69
O watcher of men?70
Why have you set me as your target?71
Have I become a burden to you?72
7:21 And why do you not pardon my transgression,
and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,73
and you will seek me diligently,74
but I will be gone.”
Bildad’s First Speech to Job75