Stop searching everywhere for answers. Bible Gateway Plus puts trusted insights right alongside the passage you’re reading. Free 7-day trial.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Job 7
New King James Version

### Job: My Suffering Is Comfortless

7 “Is there not (A)a time of hard service for man on earth?
Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?
2 Like a servant who [a]earnestly desires the shade,
And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,
3 So I have been allotted (B)months of futility,
And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.
4 (C)When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise,
And the night be ended?’
For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.
5 My flesh is (D)caked with worms and dust,
My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

6 “My(E) days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
7 Oh, remember that (F)my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.
8 (G)The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;
While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.
9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
So (H)he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
10 He shall never return to his house,
(I)Nor shall his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will (J)not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will (K)complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a sea serpent,
That You set a guard over me?
13 (L)When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’
14 Then You scare me with dreams
And terrify me with visions,
15 So that my soul chooses strangling
And death rather than [b]my body.
16 (M)I loathe my life;
I would not live forever.
(N)Let me alone,
For (O)my days are but [c]a breath.

17 “What(P) is man, that You should exalt him,
That You should set Your heart on him,
18 That You should [d]visit him every morning,
And test him every moment?
19 How long?
Will You not look away from me,
And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?
20 Have I sinned?
What have I done to You, (Q)O watcher of men?
Why (R)have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden [e]to myself?
21 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.”

#### Footnotes

1. Job 7:2 Lit. pants for
2. Job 7:15 Lit. my bones
3. Job 7:16 Without substance, futile
4. Job 7:18 attend to
5. Job 7:20 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Jewish tradition to You

#### Cross references

1. Job 7:1 : [Job 14:5, 13, 14]; Ps. 39:4
2. Job 7:3 : [Job 15:31]
3. Job 7:4 : Deut. 28:67; Job 7:13, 14
4. Job 7:5 : Is. 14:11
5. Job 7:6 : Job 9:25; 16:22; 17:11; Is. 38:12; [James 4:14]
6. Job 7:7 : Job 7:16; Ps. 78:39; 89:47
7. Job 7:8 : Job 8:18; 20:9
8. Job 7:9 : 2 Sam. 12:23
9. Job 7:10 : Ps. 103:16
10. Job 7:11 : Ps. 39:1, 9
11. Job 7:11 : 1 Sam. 1:10
12. Job 7:13 : Job 9:27
13. Job 7:16 : Job 10:1
14. Job 7:16 : Job 14:6
15. Job 7:16 : Ps. 62:9
16. Job 7:17 : Job 22:2; Ps. 8:4; 144:3; Heb. 2:6
17. Job 7:20 : Ps. 36:6
18. Job 7:20 : Ps. 21:12

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NKJV, Gift and Award Bible, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $6.99
Save: $3.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Prayer Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $35.99
Save: $24.00 (40%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Bible Study Bible, Comfort Print: A Study Guide for Every Chapter of the Bible
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Everyday Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: 365 Daily Readings Through the Whole Bible
Retail: $29.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $9.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Woman's Study Bible, Red Letter, Full-Color: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles