Job 7:11-21
Job 7:11-21 The Message (MSG)
“And so I’m not keeping one bit of this quiet, I’m laying it all out on the table; my complaining to high heaven is bitter, but honest. Are you going to put a muzzle on me, the way you quiet the sea and still the storm? If I say, ‘I’m going to bed, then I’ll feel better. A little nap will lift my spirits,’ You come and so scare me with nightmares and frighten me with ghosts That I’d rather strangle in the sheets than face this kind of life any longer. I hate this life! Who needs any more of this? Let me alone! There’s nothing to my life—it’s nothing but smoke. “What are mortals anyway, that you bother with them, that you even give them the time of day? That you check up on them every morning, looking in on them to see how they’re doing? Let up on me, will you? Can’t you even let me spit in peace? Even suppose I’d sinned—how would that hurt you? You’re responsible for every human being. Don’t you have better things to do than pick on me? Why make a federal case out of me? Why don’t you just forgive my sins and start me off with a clean slate? The way things are going, I’ll soon be dead. You’ll look high and low, but I won’t be around.”
Job 7:11-21 King James Version (KJV)
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. 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.
Job 7:11-21 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“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. Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions; So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains. I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath. What is man that You magnify him, And that You are concerned about him, That You examine him every morning And try him every moment? Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.”
Job 7:11-21 New Century Version (NCV)
“So I will not stay quiet; I will speak out in the suffering of my spirit. I will complain because I am so unhappy. I am not the sea or the sea monster. So why have you set a guard over me? Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me or that my couch will stop my complaint. Then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions. My throat prefers to be choked; my bones welcome death. I hate my life; I don’t want to live forever. Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning. “Why do you make people so important and give them so much attention? You examine them every morning and test them every moment. Will you never look away from me or leave me alone even long enough to swallow? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you watcher of humans? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a heavy load for you? Why don’t you pardon my wrongs and forgive my sins? I will soon lie down in the dust of death. Then you will search for me, but I will be no more.”
Job 7:11-21 American Standard Version (ASV)
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 sea-monster, 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 these my bones. I loathe my life; 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 thy mind upon him, And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment? How long wilt thou not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? If 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? And 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.
Job 7:11-21 New International Version (NIV)
“Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more.”
Job 7:11-21 New King James Version (NKJV)
“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. Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me? When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ Then You scare me with dreams And terrify me with visions, So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath. “What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him, That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently, But I will no longer be.”
Job 7:11-21 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶“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 [O Lord]. “Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? “When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me through visions, So that I would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pain. “I waste away and loathe my life; I will not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are but a breath [futile and without substance]. “What is man that You [should] magnify him [and think him important]? And that You are concerned about him? [Ps 8:4] “And that You examine him every morning And try and test him every moment? “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me], Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? “If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You, O Watcher of mankind? Why have You set me as a target for You, So that I am a burden to myself? “Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my sin and guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be.”
Job 7:11-21 New Living Translation (NLT)
“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain. Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard? I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’ but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions. I would rather be strangled— rather die than suffer like this. I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days. “What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow! If 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? Why 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.”
Job 7:11-21 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“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. Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me? When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,’ then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I would choose strangling and death rather than my bones. I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment? How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit? If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be.”