1Is there not a warfare to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling ? 2As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow , And as a hireling that looketh for his wages : 3So am I made to possess months of misery , And wearisome nights are appointed to me. 4When I lie down , I say, When shall I arise , and the night be gone ? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day . 5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust ; My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh. 6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope .
The Nature of Human Existence
7Oh remember that my life is a breath : Mine eye shall no more see good . 8The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more ; Thine eyes shall be upon me , but I shall not be . 9As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away , So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more . 10He shall return no more to his house , Neither shall his place know him any more . 11Therefore I will not refrain my mouth ; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit ; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul .
Job's Plea for Understanding
12Am I a sea , or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me ? 13When I say, My bed shall comfort me , My couch shall ease my complaint; 14Then thou scarest me with dreams , And terrifiest me through visions : 15So that my soul chooseth strangling , And death rather than these my bones . 16I loathe my life ; I would not live alway : Let me alone ; for my days are vanity .
The Burden of Sin and Guilt
17What is man , that thou shouldest magnify him , And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him , 18And that thou shouldest visit him every morning , And try him every moment ? 19How long wilt thou not look away from me , Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle ? 20If I have sinned , what do I unto thee , O thou watcher of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee , So that I am a burden to myself? 21And why dost thou not pardon my transgression , and take away mine iniquity ? For now shall I lie down in the dust ; And thou wilt seek me diligently , but I shall not be .