Job7

Job laments his severe suffering, comparing his life to a hireling's toil and expressing the swiftness and hopelessness of his days. He describes his decaying body and restless nights, then questions God's intense scrutiny, preferring death to his current anguish. Job concludes by asking why God does not pardon his sins before he perishes.
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The Misery and Brevity of Life

1
Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? ​
2
As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: ​
3
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4
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. ​
5
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
6
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. ​

The Finality of Death

7
O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. ​
8
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. ​
10
He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.

Job Resolves to Complain Bitterly

11
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. ​
12
Am I a sea, or a whale, 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, and death rather than my life.
16
I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Why Does God Watch Me So Closely?

17
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? ​
18
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
19
How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? ​
20
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? ​
21
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. ​

Study Notes for Job 7

Verse 1

Job begins his second speech by reflecting on the universal human condition, comparing life to a military enlistment ('appointed time') or the tedious labor of a hireling, characterized by hardship and longing for rest.

Verse 2

The comparison emphasizes that just as a laborer eagerly anticipates the 'shadow' (the evening rest), Job longs for the end of his painful struggle and the reward of death.

Verse 4

This verse illustrates the depth of Job's physical suffering, where the simple relief of sleep is denied, turning the night into an agonizing cycle of restlessness and despair.

Verse 6

The 'weaver's shuttle' is an image of rapid, fleeting movement. Job’s life passes swiftly and without purpose or hope, contrasting sharply with the expectation of reward for a hireling (v. 2).

Verse 7

Job directly implores God to remember the insubstantial nature of his life ('wind'). If life is so brief, God should stop afflicting him so severely.

Verse 9

Job expresses the common ancient Near Eastern understanding of death: once a person goes to the grave (Sheol), there is no return to the land of the living.

Verse 11

Frustrated by the silence of his friends and the severity of his affliction, Job resolves to abandon restraint and speak out the painful thoughts and complaints in his heart, regardless of theological propriety.

Verse 12

Job protests God’s intense surveillance. The 'sea' or 'whale' (*tannin*) often represents chaotic, unruly forces in ancient cosmology. Job asks why God treats him like a cosmic threat requiring constant vigilance.

Verse 14

God denies Job even the solace of sleep. Job believes God actively sends terrifying dreams and visions, ensuring that his suffering continues even when unconscious.

Verse 17

Job bitterly paraphrases Psalm 8:4 ('What is man, that thou art mindful of him?'). He reverses the psalm’s tone of wonder into a complaint, asking why God expends so much energy scrutinizing and testing such an insignificant creature.

Verse 19

The phrase 'swallow down my spittle' is an idiom meaning 'to take a brief moment to rest.' Job pleads for even a second of respite from God’s unrelenting observation.

Verse 20

Job challenges God, asking what effect his minor sins could possibly have on the 'preserver of men.' He feels he has become a target ('mark') for divine judgment, making himself a burden to bear.

Verse 21

This is Job's final desperate request: pardon him now, because death is imminent. He warns God that if forgiveness is delayed, God will eventually seek him out, but Job will already be gone forever in the dust.

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