Job 9:25
New International Version
“My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

New Living Translation
“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.

English Standard Version
“My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.

Berean Standard Bible
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.

King James Bible
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

New King James Version
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

New American Standard Bible
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

NASB 1995
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

NASB 1977
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away; they do not see good.

Amplified Bible
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They vanish, they see no good.

Christian Standard Bible
My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good.

American Standard Version
Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good,

Contemporary English Version
My life is speeding by, without a hope of happiness.

English Revised Version
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"My days go by more quickly than a runner. They sprint away. They don't see anything good.

Good News Translation
My days race by, not one of them good.

International Standard Version
"My days pass faster than a runner; but they pass quickly without seeing anything good.

Majority Standard Bible
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.

NET Bible
"My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.

New Heart English Bible
"Now my days are swifter than a runner. They flee away, they see no good,

Webster's Bible Translation
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

World English Bible
“Now my days are swifter than a runner. They flee away. They see no good.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
My days have been swifter than a runner, "" They have fled, they have not seen good,

Young's Literal Translation
My days have been swifter than a runner, They have fled, they have not seen good,

Smith's Literal Translation
My days were swift above a runner: they fled, they saw not good.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
My days have been swifter than a post: they have fled away and have not seen good.

Catholic Public Domain Version
My days have been swifter than a messenger; they have fled and have not seen goodness.

New American Bible
My days are swifter than a runner, they flee away; they see no happiness;

New Revised Standard Version
“My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Now my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away, they see no good.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
My days are faster than a runner; they flee away and they see no good
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But my life is swifter than a post: my days have fled away, and they knew it not.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job: How Can I Argue with God?
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it? 25My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good. 26They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.…

Cross References
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 39:5
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

Psalm 39:4
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is.

Psalm 90:10
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.

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

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?

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all. / For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

Isaiah 40:6-7
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.

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,

1 Chronicles 29:15
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

1 Corinthians 7:29-31
What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; / those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; / and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

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

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

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.


Treasury of Scripture

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

swifter

Job 7:6,7
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope…

Esther 8:14
So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.

Job 9:24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

they flee away

Psalm 39:5,11
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah…

Psalm 89:47
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

Psalm 90:9,10
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told

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Job 9
1. Job acknowledges God's justice
22. Man's innocence is not to be condemned by afflictions














My days are swifter than a runner;
In this phrase, Job is expressing the brevity and fleeting nature of human life. The imagery of a runner suggests speed and urgency, emphasizing how quickly time passes. In the ancient Near Eastern context, runners were often used as messengers, known for their speed and endurance. This metaphor highlights the rapid passage of time, a theme echoed in other biblical texts such as Psalm 39:5, which speaks of the shortness of life. The swiftness of a runner also reflects the urgency and relentless pace of Job's suffering, as he feels his life slipping away without relief.

they flee without seeing good.
Job laments that his days pass without experiencing goodness or joy. This reflects his deep sense of despair and the overwhelming nature of his trials. In the cultural context of the time, prosperity and well-being were often seen as signs of divine favor, while suffering was viewed as a result of sin or divine displeasure. Job's statement challenges this notion, as he maintains his innocence despite his suffering. This phrase can be connected to Ecclesiastes 6:12, which questions the value of life when it is filled with hardship. Theologically, this points to the human condition and the longing for redemption and restoration, ultimately fulfilled in the hope of Christ, who offers eternal life and the promise of seeing good in the presence of God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
The central figure in the Book of Job, a man described as blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He undergoes severe trials and suffering, which lead him to question the nature of suffering and justice.

2. Uz
The land where Job lived. It is often associated with the region east of Israel, possibly in Edom or northern Arabia.

3. Job's Trials
The series of calamities that befall Job, including the loss of his wealth, children, and health, which set the stage for his profound reflections on life and suffering.
Teaching Points
The Brevity of Life
Life is fleeting, much like a runner swiftly passing by. This should prompt us to consider how we spend our time and what we prioritize.

Perception of Goodness
Job's lament that his days flee without seeing any good challenges us to seek God's perspective on what is truly good, even amidst suffering.

Trust in God's Sovereignty
Despite life's brevity and challenges, we are called to trust in God's overarching plan and His ability to bring good out of our trials.

Eternal Perspective
Our focus should be on eternal values rather than temporary circumstances, aligning our lives with God's eternal purposes.

Hope in Christ
In Christ, we find hope and assurance that our lives have meaning and purpose beyond the immediate trials we face.(25) Swifter than a post.--The runner, with his messages and dispatches. He now turns away from the contemplation of God and His dealings to that of his own misery.

Verse 25. - Now my days are swifter than a post. Life slips away so fast that before it is well begun, it is ended. Job compares it to the swift passage of the trained runner, or messenger, who carried despatches for kings and other great personages in the olden times (see 2 Chronicles 30:6; Esther 3:13; Esther 8:10, 14). Herodotus says of the trained runners employed by the Persians, "Nothing mortal travels so fast as these Persian messengers" (Herod., 8:98). There is abundant evidence of the employment of such persons in ancient Egypt. They flee away, they see no good. It seems to Job that his prosperity (Job 1:2-5) was only for a moment. He scarcely could look on it before it was gone.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
My days
וְיָמַ֣י (wə·yā·may)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3117: A day

are swifter
קַ֭לּוּ (qal·lū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7043: To be slight, swift or trifling

than
מִנִּי־ (min·nî-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

a runner;
רָ֑ץ (rāṣ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7323: To run

they flee
בָּֽ֝רְח֗וּ (bā·rə·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1272: To bolt, to flee suddenly

without
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

seeing
רָא֥וּ (rā·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7200: To see

any good.
טוֹבָֽה׃ (ṭō·w·ḇāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good


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OT Poetry: Job 9:25 Now my days are swifter than (Jb)
Job 9:24
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