Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
1Isn't mankind consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? | 1“Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand, |
2Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired man he waits for his pay. | 2like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid. |
3So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. | 3I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery. |
4When I lie down I think: When will I get up? But the evening drags on endlessly, and I toss and turn until dawn. | 4Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’ But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. |
5My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt. My skin forms scabs and then oozes. | 5My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus. Job Cries Out to God |
6My days pass more swiftly than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. | 6“My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope. |
7Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. | 7O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness. |
8The eye of anyone who looks on me will no longer see me. Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. | 8You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone. |
9As a cloud fades away and vanishes, so the one who goes down to Sheol will never rise again. | 9Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back. |
10He will never return to his house; his hometown will no longer remember him. | 10They are gone forever from their home— never to be seen again. |
11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. | 11“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain. |
12Am I the sea or a sea monster, that You keep me under guard? | 12Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard? |
13When I say: My bed will comfort me, and my couch will ease my complaint, | 13I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’ |
14then You frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions, | 14but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions. |
15so that I prefer strangling-- death rather than life in this body. | 15I would rather be strangled— rather die than suffer like this. |
16I give up! I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. | 16I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days. |
17What is man, that You think so highly of him and pay so much attention to him? | 17“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? |
18You inspect him every morning, and put him to the test every moment. | 18For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. |
19Will You ever look away from me, or leave me alone long enough to swallow? | 19Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow! |
20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I have become a burden to You? | 20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you? |
21Why not forgive my sin and pardon my transgression? For soon I will lie down in the grave. You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone. | 21Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.” |
Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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