Job 7:16
New International Version
I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

New Living Translation
I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

English Standard Version
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

Berean Standard Bible
I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

King James Bible
I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

New King James Version
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.

New American Standard Bible
“I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath.

NASB 1995
“I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

NASB 1977
“I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Legacy Standard Bible
I have rejected everything; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Amplified Bible
“I waste away and loathe my life; I will not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are but a breath [futile and without substance].

Christian Standard Bible
I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

American Standard Version
I loathe my life; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Contemporary English Version
Leave me alone and let me die; my life has no meaning.

English Revised Version
I loathe my life; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I hate my life; I do not want to live forever. Leave me alone because my days are so brief.

Good News Translation
I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.

International Standard Version
I hate the thought of living forever! Leave me alone, because my days are pointless."

Majority Standard Bible
I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

NET Bible
I loathe it; I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, for my days are a vapor!

New Heart English Bible
I loathe my life. I do not want to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Webster's Bible Translation
I lothe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

World English Bible
I loathe my life. I don’t want to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I have wasted away—I do not live for all time. Cease from me, for my days [are] vanity.

Young's Literal Translation
I have wasted away -- not to the age do I live. Cease from me, for my days are vanity.

Smith's Literal Translation
I melted away; I shall not live forever: desist from me, for my days are vanity.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I have done with hope, I shall now live no longer: spare me, for my days are nothing.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I despair; by no means will I live any longer. Spare me, for my days are nothing.

New American Bible
I waste away: I will not live forever; let me alone, for my days are but a breath.

New Revised Standard Version
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are a breath.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I am despondent; I would not live for ever; leave me alone, for my days are vanity.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
I have lost hope for myself and I am not living to eternity. Depart from me, for my days are empty!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I loathe it; I shall not live alway; Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For I shall not live for ever, that I should patiently endure: depart from me, for my life is vain.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Continues: Life Seems Futile
15so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body. 16I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath. 17What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,…

Cross References
Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Ecclesiastes 2:17
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Psalm 102:3
For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.

Ecclesiastes 1:14
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

Isaiah 38:12
My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Psalm 78:39
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

2 Corinthians 5:2-4
For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, / because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. / For while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

Psalm 89:47
Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

Philippians 1:23
I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

Psalm 90:9-10
For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh. / The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

1 Corinthians 15:19
If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.


Treasury of Scripture

I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

I loathe it.

Job 3:20-22
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; …

Job 6:9
Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

Job 10:1
My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

let me alone.

Job 10:20
Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

Job 14:6
Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.

Psalm 39:10,13
Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand…

my days.

Psalm 62:9
Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

Psalm 78:33
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.

Psalm 144:4
Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

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Job 7
1. Job excuses his desire of death.
12. He complains of his own restlessness, and reasons with God.














I loathe my life
The Hebrew word for "loathe" is "ma'as," which conveys a deep sense of rejection or despising. Job's expression here is one of profound despair and dissatisfaction with his current state. In the context of Job's suffering, this phrase reflects the depth of his anguish and the intensity of his emotional turmoil. Historically, this sentiment is not uncommon in the ancient Near Eastern literature, where laments often express a deep-seated aversion to life amidst suffering. For the conservative Christian, this highlights the reality of human suffering and the need for divine intervention and comfort.

I would not live forever
This phrase underscores Job's desire for an end to his suffering rather than an endless continuation of his current state. The Hebrew word "olam" often translated as "forever," can also mean a long duration or eternity. Job's wish not to live forever in his current condition reflects a yearning for relief and possibly an understanding of the limitations of earthly life. From a theological perspective, this can be seen as an acknowledgment of the temporal nature of human existence and the hope for something beyond this life, aligning with the Christian belief in eternal life through Christ.

Leave me alone
The plea "leave me alone" is a direct address to God, expressing Job's desire for respite from his suffering. The Hebrew verb "chadal" implies a cessation or rest. This reflects Job's feeling of being overwhelmed by his trials and his wish for a moment of peace. In the broader scriptural context, this can be seen as a moment of raw honesty in Job's relationship with God, illustrating that God allows His people to express their deepest emotions and struggles.

for my days are but a breath
The metaphor of life as a "breath" is a poignant reminder of the brevity and fragility of human existence. The Hebrew word "hebel," often translated as "breath" or "vapor," is also used in Ecclesiastes to describe the fleeting nature of life. This imagery emphasizes the transient nature of human life and the futility of earthly struggles without divine purpose. For the conservative Christian, this serves as a call to focus on eternal truths and the hope found in God's promises, rather than the temporary trials of this world.

(16) I loathe it--i.e., the thought of self-destruction; or, I loathe my life; or, according to others (see the margin), I waste away: this, however, is perhaps less probable. Then the thought comes with a ray of comfort, "I shall not live for ever;" for this seems more in accordance with the context than the Authorised Version: "I would not live always."

Verse 16. - I loathe it; rather, I am wasted away - "ulceratus tabesco" (Schultens). I would not live alway; rather, I shall not live alway. Let me alone; for my days are vanity; literally, cease from me; i.e. "cease to trouble me" - with, perhaps, the further meaning. "cease to trouble thyself about me;" for I am sufficiently reduced to nothingness - my life is mere vanity.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I loathe [my life]!
מָ֭אַסְתִּי (mā·’as·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3988: To spurn, to disappear

I would not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

live
אֶֽחְיֶ֑ה (’eḥ·yeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

forever.
לְעֹלָ֣ם (lə·‘ō·lām)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always

Leave me alone,
חֲדַ֥ל (ḥă·ḏal)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 2308: To be flabby, desist, be lacking, idle

for
כִּי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

my days [are]
יָמָֽי׃ (yā·māy)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3117: A day

[but] a breath.
הֶ֥בֶל (he·ḇel)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1892: Emptiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory


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OT Poetry: Job 7:16 I loathe my life (Jb)
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