Job Chapter 7 (KJV)
Job 7
Human suffering and theodicyMortality and the brevity of lifeGod's sovereignty and human questioningPhysical and emotional anguishDesire for relief from suffering
{Is there} not an appointed time to man upon earth? {are not} his days also like the days of an hireling? {an appointed...: or, a warfare}
As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for {the reward of} his work: {earnestly...: Heb. gapeth after}
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
When 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. {the night...: Heb. the evening be measured?}
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
O remember that my life {is} wind: mine eye shall no more see good. {shall...: Heb. shall not return} {see: to see, that is, to enjoy}
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no {more}: thine eyes {are} upon me, and I {am} not. {I am...: that is, I can live no longer}
{As} the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no {more}.
He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
{Am} I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
So that my soul chooseth strangling, {and} death rather than my life. {life: Heb. bones}
I loathe {it}; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days {are} vanity.
What {is} man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
And {that} thou shouldest visit him every morning, {and} try him every moment?
How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I {shall} not {be}.
Context & Meaning
In Job Chapter 7, Job continues his response to his friends, expressing his profound suffering and frustration. He compares his life to that of a hired worker eagerly awaiting rest, describes his physical torment and sleepless nights, and questions why God is watching him so closely while allowing him to suffer intensely.