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Hath not man a life of labour upon earth? and are not his days like the days of a hireling?

As a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages,

So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

If I lie down, I say, When shall I rise up, and the darkness be gone? and I am full of tossings until the dawn.

My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and suppurates.

My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.

Remember thou that my life is wind; mine eye shall no more see good.

The eye of him that hath seen me shall behold me no [more]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

The cloud consumeth and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to Sheol shall not come up.

10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him again.

11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth: I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that thou settest a watch over me?

13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions;

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, death, rather than my bones.

16 I loathe it; I shall not live always: let me alone, for my days are a breath.

17 What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him?

18 And that thou visitest him every morning, triest him every moment?

19 How long wilt thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

20 Have I sinned, what do I unto thee, thou Observer of men? Why hast thou set me as an object of assault for thee, so that I am become a burden to myself?

21 And why dost not thou forgive my transgression and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I lie down in the dust, and thou shalt seek me early, and I shall not be.

And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

How long wilt thou speak these things? and the words of thy mouth be a strong wind?

Doth God pervert judgment, and the Almighty pervert justice?

If thy children have sinned against him, he hath also given them over into the hand of their transgression.

If thou seek earnestly unto God, and make thy supplication to the Almighty,

If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous;

And though thy beginning was small, yet thine end shall be very great.

For inquire, I pray thee, of the former generation, and attend to the researches of their fathers;

For we are [but] of yesterday, and know nothing, for our days upon earth are a shadow.

10 Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

11 Doth the papyrus shoot up without mire? doth the reed-grass grow without water?

12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness [and] not cut down, it withereth before any [other] grass.

13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the profane man's hope shall perish,

14 Whose confidence shall be cut off, and his reliance is a spider's web.

15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; he shall lay hold on it, but it shall not endure.

16 He is full of sap before the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden;

17 His roots are entwined about the stoneheap; he seeth the place of stones.

18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him: I have not seen thee!

19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the dust shall others grow.

20 Behold, God will not cast off a perfect man, neither will he take evil-doers by the hand.

21 Whilst he would fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with shouting,

22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked be no more.

“Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(H)
My body is clothed with worms(I) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.(J)

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(K)
    and they come to an end without hope.(L)
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(M)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.(N)
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.(O)
As a cloud vanishes(P) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave(Q) does not return.(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place(S) will know him no more.(T)

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(U)
    I will speak out in the anguish(V) of my spirit,
    I will complain(W) in the bitterness of my soul.(X)
12 Am I the sea,(Y) or the monster of the deep,(Z)
    that you put me under guard?(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify(AC) me with visions,(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(AE)
    rather than this body of mine.(AF)
16 I despise my life;(AG) I would not live forever.(AH)
    Let me alone;(AI) my days have no meaning.(AJ)

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning(AL)
    and test them(AM) every moment?(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,(AO)
    or let me alone even for an instant?(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(AQ)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(AR)
    Have I become a burden to you?[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(AU)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(AV)

Bildad

Then Bildad the Shuhite(AW) replied:

“How long will you say such things?(AX)
    Your words are a blustering wind.(AY)
Does God pervert justice?(AZ)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(BA)
When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(BB)
But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead(BC) with the Almighty,(BD)
if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(BE)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.(BF)
Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous(BG) will your future be.(BH)

“Ask the former generation(BI)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(BJ)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.(BK)
10 Will they not instruct(BL) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(BM)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(BN)
    Can reeds(BO) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.(BP)
13 Such is the destiny(BQ) of all who forget God;(BR)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.(BS)
14 What they trust in is fragile[b];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.(BT)
15 They lean on the web,(BU) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.(BV)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots(BW) over the garden;(BX)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns(BY) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(BZ)
19 Surely its life withers(CA) away,
    and[c] from the soil other plants grow.(CB)

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(CC)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(CD)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(CE)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.(CF)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(CG)
    and the tents(CH) of the wicked will be no more.”(CI)

Footnotes

  1. Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.
  2. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that