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Job Continues

Why Is Life So Hard?

Why is life so hard?
    Why do we suffer?
We are slaves in search of shade;
we are laborers longing
    for our wages.
God has made my days drag on
    and my nights miserable.
I pray for night to end,
but it stretches out
    while I toss and turn.
My parched skin is covered
    with worms, dirt, and sores,
and my days are running out
quicker than the thread
    of a fast-moving needle.

Don't Forget!

I beg you, God, don't forget!
My life is just a breath,
    and trouble lies ahead.
I will vanish from sight,
and no one, including you,
    will ever see me again.
(A) I will disappear in the grave
or vanish from sight
    like a passing cloud.
10 Never will I return home;
    soon I will be forgotten.

11 And so, I cry out to you
    in agony and distress.
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster?
    Is that why you imprison me?[a]
13 I go to bed, hoping for rest,
14 but you torture me
    with terrible dreams.
* 15 I'd rather choke to death
    than live in this body.
16 Leave me alone and let me die;
    my life has no meaning.[b]
17 (B) What makes you so concerned
    about us humans?
18 Why do you test us
    from sunrise to sunset?
19 Won't you look away
just long enough
    for me to swallow?
20 Why do you watch us so closely?
    What's it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
    and such a heavy burden?
21 Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won't find me,
    because I'll be dead.

Bildad's First Speech

How Long Will You Talk?

Bildad from Shuah[c] said:
How long will you talk
    and keep saying nothing?
Does God All-Powerful
    stand in the way of justice?
He made your children pay
    for their sins.
So why don't you turn to him
    and start living right?
Then he will decide
to rescue and restore you
    to your place of honor.
Your future will be brighter
    by far than your past.

Our Ancestors Were Wise

(C) Our ancestors were wise,
    so learn from them.
Our own time has been short,
like a fading shadow,
    and we know very little.
10 But they will instruct you
    with great understanding.

11 Papyrus reeds grow healthy
    only in a swamp,
12 and if the water dries up,
    they die sooner than grass.
13 Such is the hopeless future
    of all who turn from God
14 and trust in something as frail
    as a spider's web—
15 they take hold and fall
    because it's so flimsy.
16 Sinful people are like plants
with spreading roots and plenty
    of sun and water.
17 They wrap their roots tightly
    around rocks.[d]
18 But once they are pulled up,
    they have no more place;
19 their life slips away,[e]
    and other plants grow there.

20 We know God doesn't reject
an innocent person
    or help a sinner.
21 And so, he will make you happy
and give you something
    to smile about.
22 But your evil enemies
will be put to shame
    and disappear forever.

Footnotes

  1. 7.12 sea monster … imprison me: “Sea monster” translates the Hebrew word “Tannin,” which was possibly a sea monster similar to Leviathan (3.8), Rahab (9.13), and Behemoth (40.15). According to 38.8-11, God makes the sea his prisoner by setting its boundaries.
  2. 7.16 my life … meaning: Or “my life will soon be over.”
  3. 8.1 Shuah: See the note at 2.11.
  4. 8.17 rocks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
  5. 8.19 their … away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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