Job 7
Job laments the hardships of life, comparing it to a battle and his days to those of a hired hand, filled with emptiness and burdens. He describes his physical suffering, feeling consumed by filth and his skin dried up, and his days passing quickly without hope. Job questions God's treatment of him, asking why he is being tormented and tested, and why his sin is not being forgiven, ultimately expressing his desire to be spared and to find rest.
1The life of a man on the earth is a battle, and his days are like the days of a hired hand2Just as a servant desires the shade, and just as the hired hand looks forward to the end of his work3so also have I had empty months and have counted my burdensome nights4If I lie down to sleep, I will say, "When will I rise?" And next I will hope for the evening and will be filled with sorrows even until darkness5My flesh is clothed with particles of rottenness and filth; my skin is dried up and tightened6My days have passed by more quickly than threads are cut by a weaver, and they have been consumed without any hope7Remember that my life is wind, and my eye will not return to see good things8Neither will the sight of man gaze upon me; your eyes are upon me, and I will not endure9Just as a cloud is consumed and passes away, so he who descends to hell will not ascend10He will not return again to his house, nor will his own place know him any longer11And because of this, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the affliction of my spirit. I will converse from the bitterness of my soul12Am I an ocean or a whale, that you have encircled me in a prison13If I say, "My bed will comfort me, and I will find rest, speaking with myself on my blanket,14then you will frighten me with dreams, and strike dread through visions15so that, because of these things, my soul would choose hanging, and my bones, death16I despair; by no means will I live any longer. Spare me, for my days are nothing17What is man, that you should praise him? Or why do you place your heart near him18You visit him at dawn, and you test him unexpectedly19How long will you not spare me, nor release me to ingest my saliva20I have sinned; what should I do for you, O keeper of men? Why have you set me against you, so that I have become burdensome even to myself21Why do you not steal away my sin, and why do you not sweep away my iniquity? Behold, now I will sleep in the dust, and if you seek me in the morning, I will not remain
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