1 MY soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3 Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?
5 Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,
6 That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?
7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?
11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;
16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

1My soule is weary of my life, I will leaue my complaint vpon my selfe; I will speake in the bitternesse of my soule.

2I will say vnto God, Doe not condemne mee; shewe me wherefore thou contendest with me.

3Is it good vnto thee, that thou shouldest oppresse? that thou shouldest despise the worke of thine hands? and shine vpon the counsell of the wicked?

4Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?

5Are thy dayes as the dayes of man? are thy yeeres as mans dayes,

6That thou enquirest after mine iniquitie, and searchest after my sinne?

7Thou knowest that I am not wicked, and there is none that can deliuer out of thine hand.

8Thine hands haue made me and fashioned me together round about yet thou doest destroy me.

9Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay, and wilt thou bring me into dust againe?

10Hast thou not powred me out as milke, and cruddled me like cheese?

11Thou hast cloathed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinewes.

12Thou hast granted me life and fauour, and thy visitation hath preserued my spirit.

13And these things hast thou hid in thine heart; I know that this is with thee.

14If I sinne, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquite me from mine iniquitie.

15If I be wicked, woe vnto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift vp my head: I am full of confusion, therefore see thou mine affliction:

16For it increaseth: thou huntest me as a fierce Lion: and againe thou shewest thy selfe marueilous vpon me.

17Thou renuest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation vpon me; Changes and warre are against me.

18Wherfore then hast thou brought me forth out of the wombe? Oh that I had giuen vp the ghost, and no eye had seene me!

19I should haue bene as though I had not bene, I should haue bene caried from the wombe to the graue.

20Are not my dayes few? cease then, and let me alone that I may take comfort a litle,

21Before I goe whence I shall not returne, euen to the land of darknes and the shadow of death,

22A land of darknes, as darknes it selfe, and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkenes.

I == 1st Kings 19:4 ; Job 7:11 , 16 ; Jon 4:3 , 8

 

III == Ps 138:8 ; Isa 64:8

 

 

IV == 1st Sam 16:7

 

 

 

 

VII == Ps 139:12

VIII == Ps 119:73

 

IX == Gen 2:7 ; 3:19 ; Isa 64:8

 

X == Ps 139:14-16

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == Ps 139:1

 

XV == Job 9:12 , 15 , 20-21 ; Ps 25:18

XVI == Isa 38:13 ; Lam 3:10

 

XVII == Ruth 1:21

 

XVIII == Job 3:11

 

 

 

 

XX == Job 7:6 , 16 , 19 ; 8:9 ; Ps 39:5 , 13

XXI == Ps 23:4 ; 88:12

 

1 I loathe my life. I will give myself up to complaint; I will speak from the bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say to God: Do not put me in the wrong! Let me know why you oppose me.

3 Is it a pleasure for you to oppress, to spurn the work of your hands, and smile on the plan of the wicked?

4 Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees?

5 Are your days as the days of a mortal, and are your years as a man's lifetime,

6 That you seek for guilt in me and search after my sins,

7 Even though you know that I am not wicked, and that none can deliver me out of your hand?

8 Your hands have formed me and fashioned me; will you then turn and destroy me?

9 Oh, remember that you fashioned me from clay! Will you then bring me down to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out as milk, and thicken me like cheese?

11 With skin and flesh you clothed me, with bones and sinews knit me together.

12 Grace and favor you granted me, and your providence has preserved my spirit.

13 Yet these things you have hidden in your heart; I know that they are your purpose:

14 If I should sin, you would keep a watch against me, and from my guilt you would not absolve me.

15 If I should be wicked, alas for me! if righteous, I dare not hold up my head, filled with ignominy and sodden with affliction!

16 Should it lift up, you hunt me like a lion: repeatedly you show your wondrous power against me,

17 You renew your attack upon me and multiply your harassment of me; in waves your troops come against me.

18 Why then did you bring me forth from the womb? I should have died and no eye have seen me.

19 I should be as though I had never lived; I should have been taken from the womb to the grave.

20 Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may recover a little

21 Before I go whence I shall not return, to the land of darkness and of gloom,

22 The black, disordered land where darkness is the only light.

v 1-7. Since Job had no mediator, he is willing to risk his unpleasant life to be his own defense attorney before God. He determines that he will ask God not to condemn him but to list the charges against him. He would ask if God got pleasure out of hurting him; Does God have eyes like a man to investigate him? Are God’s days so short He has to keep seeking after Job’s sins even though God knows he is innocent?

 

 

 

 

 

v 8-12. Since God had created and molded him, why is He turning around to destroy him? God had formed him as a fetus described in v 10, 11, and given him  life and breath, v 12, so why should He turn against Job?

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 13--17. In a less challenging attitude but frustrated, Job realizes that even when he was created, all this was in God’s plan. God would not hold him guiltless from sin, but even when he was innocent, God was stalking him like a lion and attacking him. Both the righteous and wicked suffer. a

 

 

 

 

 

v 18-22. This all leaves Job wishing he had never been born, but since he was, why doesn’t God just let him alone and let him die? Now he is so discouraged he is not even asking for a moment of reprieve as he did in 9:25. Now he will just settle for the darkness of death, so dark that even the light is still darkness. At this point he was too discouraged to think of the resurrection.