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Job's Life Seems Futile

¹ "^(F1)Is not man ^(C1)forced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of ^(C2)a hired man?

² "As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

³ So am I allotted months of vanity,
And ^(C1)nights of trouble are appointed me.

⁴ "When I ^(C1)lie down I say,
'When shall I arise?'
But the night continues,
And I am ^(F1)continually tossing until dawn.

⁵ "My ^(C1)flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and runs.

⁶ "My days are ^(C1)swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
And come to an end ^(C2)without hope.

⁷ "Remember that my life ^(C1)is but breath;
My eye will ^(C2)not again see good.

⁸ "The ^(C1)eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but ^(C2)I will not be.

⁹ "When a ^(C1)cloud vanishes, it is gone,
So ^(C2)he who goes down to ^(C3)Sheol does not come up.

¹⁰ "He will not return again to his house,
Nor will ^(C1)his place know him anymore.

¹¹ "Therefore ^(C1)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 the sea, or ^(C1)the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?

¹³ "If I say, '^(C1)My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ^(F1)ease my complaint,'

¹⁴ Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions;

¹⁵ So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my ^(F1)pains.

¹⁶ "I ^(F1)(C1)waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, ^(C2)for my days are but a breath.

¹⁷ "^(C1)What is man that You magnify him,
And that You ^(F1)are concerned about him,

¹⁸ That ^(C1)You examine him every morning
And try him every moment?

¹⁹ "^(F1)(C1)Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰ "^(C1)Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O ^(C2)watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹ "Why then ^(C1)do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will ^(C2)lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me, ^(C3)but I will not be."