VII. 1909-14. The Book of Job. The Harvard Classics

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The Book of Job.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

VII


[1]	IS there not a warfare 1 to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
[2]	As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow, And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:
[3]	So am I made to possess months of misery, 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 closeth 2 up, and breaketh out afresh.
[6]	My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.
[7]	Oh remember that my life is a breath: Mine eye shall no more see good.
[8]	The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more; Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.
[9]	As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
[10]	He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more.

[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 sea-monster, 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 these my bones.
[16]	I 3 loathe my life; I would 4 not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity. 5
[17]	What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
[18]	And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment?
[19]	How long wilt thou not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
[20]	If I have sinned, what do 6 I unto thee, O thou watcher 7 of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark for 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 lie down in the dust; And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.

Note 1. Or, time of service. [back]

Note 2. Or, a broken and become loathsome. [back]

Note 3. Or, I waste away. [back]

Note 4. Or, shall. [back]

Note 5. Or, as a breath. [back]

Note 6. Or, can I do. [back]

Note 7. Or, preserver. [back]

CONTENTS · BOOK CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

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