7 Oh remember that my life is a breath. My eye will no more see good.
8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no more. Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more.
10 He will return no more to his house, neither will his place know him any more.
11 “Therefore I will not keep silent. 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 you put a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me. My couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams and terrify me through visions,
15 so that my soul chooses strangling, death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe my life. I don’t want to live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
17 What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should set your mind on him,
18 that you should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?
19 How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone until I swallow down my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, what do I do to you, you watcher of men? Why have you set me as a mark for you, so that I am a burden to myself?
21 Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now will I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.”
7 passages from writers of 3 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
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Oldest first.
The Talmudgathered c. 200–500JewishTract Baba Bathra · on Job 7:9"As the cloud vanisheth and passeth away: so will he that goeth down to the nether world not come up again." Said Rabha: From this we see that Job denied resurrection.
"As the cloud vanisheth and passeth away: so will he that goeth down to the nether world not come up again." Said Rabha: From this we see that Job denied resurrection.
The Talmud, Tract Baba Bathra, Baba Bathra 16a; translated by Michael L. Rodkinson (Boston, 1918); the text of the Internet Sacred Text Archive. The edition
The rabbis' discussions of the law and the Scriptures, gathered in Babylonia over three centuries, each saying under the name of the rabbi who said it.
Gregory the Greatc. 540–604Early church, WestMorals on the Book of Job · on Job 7:20–21Well therefore is it said, Thou hast set me opposite to Thee, so that I am a burthen to myself, in that whilst man being banished is both subject to annoyances in the flesh, and to perplexities in the mind, surely he carries about his own self as a grievous burthen. … But blessed Job regarding these things, and seeking with groans wherefore they were so ordered, does not reproach justice, but interrogates mercy; that in asking he may himself in self-abasement deal a blow to that, which the Divine pity might in sparing alter. As if he said in plain words; ‘Wherefore dost Thou despise man set as in opposition to Thee, Who, I am assured, wouldest not that even he should perish whom Thou art thought to despise?’ … For we can never be free from sin so long as we are held fast in a body of mortality, and therefore he longs for the grace of the Redeemer, i.e. for the wholeness … of the Resurrection, who is looking to have his iniquity entirely ‘taken away.’
Well therefore is it said, Thou hast set me opposite to Thee, so that I am a burthen to myself, in that whilst man being banished is both subject to annoyances in the flesh, and to perplexities in the mind, surely he carries about his own self as a grievous burthen. … But blessed Job regarding these things, and seeking with groans wherefore they were so ordered, does not reproach justice, but interrogates mercy; that in asking he may himself in self-abasement deal a blow to that, which the Divine pity might in sparing alter. As if he said in plain words; ‘Wherefore dost Thou despise man set as in opposition to Thee, Who, I am assured, wouldest not that even he should perish whom Thou art thought to despise?’ … For we can never be free from sin so long as we are held fast in a body of mortality, and therefore he longs for the grace of the Redeemer, i.e. for the wholeness … of the Resurrection, who is looking to have his iniquity entirely ‘taken away.’
Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job, book 8, on 7:20–21; translated in the Library of the Fathers (Oxford, 1844–1850); the text of Lectionary Central. The edition
Bishop of Rome from 590, whose Morals on the Book of Job and sermons on the Gospels were read across the medieval church.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Job 7:7–11Job, observing perhaps that his friends, though they would not interrupt him in his discourse, yet began to grow weary, and not to heed much what he said, here turns to God, and speaks to him. … Yet we must not go to school to Job here to learn how to speak to God; for, it must be confessed, there is a great mixture of passion and corruption in what he here says. But, if God be not extreme to mark what his people say amiss, let us also make the best of it. … Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak; I will complain. Holy David, when he had been meditating on the frailty of human life, made a contrary use of it (Psa 39:9, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth); but Job, finding himself near expiring, hastens as much to make his complaint as if he had been to make his last will and testament or as if he could not die in peace until he had given vent to his passion. … Better die praying and praising than die complaining and quarrelling.
Job, observing perhaps that his friends, though they would not interrupt him in his discourse, yet began to grow weary, and not to heed much what he said, here turns to God, and speaks to him. … Yet we must not go to school to Job here to learn how to speak to God; for, it must be confessed, there is a great mixture of passion and corruption in what he here says. But, if God be not extreme to mark what his people say amiss, let us also make the best of it. … Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak; I will complain. Holy David, when he had been meditating on the frailty of human life, made a contrary use of it (Psa 39:9, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth); but Job, finding himself near expiring, hastens as much to make his complaint as if he had been to make his last will and testament or as if he could not die in peace until he had given vent to his passion. … Better die praying and praising than die complaining and quarrelling.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 7:7–16; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Job 7:17–18What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? This may be looked upon either, 1. As a passionate reflection upon the proceedings of divine justice; as if the great God did diminish and disparage himself in contending with man. … We mistake God, and the nature of his providence, if we think it any lessening to him to take notice of the meanest of his creatures. Or, 2. As a pious admiration of the condescensions of divine grace, like that, Psa 8:4; Psa 144:3. He owns God's favour to man in general, even when he complains of his own particular troubles. … That such a worm of the earth as man is should be the darling and favourite of heaven is what we have reason for ever to admire.
What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? This may be looked upon either, 1. As a passionate reflection upon the proceedings of divine justice; as if the great God did diminish and disparage himself in contending with man. … We mistake God, and the nature of his providence, if we think it any lessening to him to take notice of the meanest of his creatures. Or, 2. As a pious admiration of the condescensions of divine grace, like that, Psa 8:4; Psa 144:3. He owns God's favour to man in general, even when he complains of his own particular troubles. … That such a worm of the earth as man is should be the darling and favourite of heaven is what we have reason for ever to admire.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 7:17–21; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Gill1697–1771BaptistAn Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on Job 7:8–9the meaning is, that when a man is dead, he is seen no more by men on earth, by his relations, friends, and acquaintance … the state of the dead is an invisible state, and therefore called in the Greek tongue "Hades", "unseen"; so the dead will remain, with respect to the inhabitants of this world, till the resurrection, and then they shall see and be seen again in the same bodies they now have; for this is no denial of the resurrection of the dead, as some Jewish writers charge Job with, and infer from this and some following passages … he comes up no more from it, that is, of himself, by his own power; none but Christ, who is God over all, ever did this … nor will this be done until the general resurrection of the just and unjust, when all that are in their graves shall come forth
the meaning is, that when a man is dead, he is seen no more by men on earth, by his relations, friends, and acquaintance … the state of the dead is an invisible state, and therefore called in the Greek tongue "Hades", "unseen"; so the dead will remain, with respect to the inhabitants of this world, till the resurrection, and then they shall see and be seen again in the same bodies they now have; for this is no denial of the resurrection of the dead, as some Jewish writers charge Job with, and infer from this and some following passages … he comes up no more from it, that is, of himself, by his own power; none but Christ, who is God over all, ever did this … nor will this be done until the general resurrection of the just and unjust, when all that are in their graves shall come forth
John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, on 7:8–9; 1746–1763; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Baptist pastor in London and a scholar of Hebrew and the rabbis, who wrote a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Job 7:9–10In the Talmud (b. Bathra, 16, a) it is observed, on this passage, that Job denies the resurrection of the dead … but Job knows nothing of a resurrection of the dead, and what one knows not, one cannot deny. He knows only that after death, the end of the present life, there is no second life in this world, only a being in Sheôl, which is only an apparent existence = no existence, in which all praise of God is silent … the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead had not been set forth at the time of Job, and of the author of the book of Job. … We shall see by and by, how the more his friends torment him, the more he is urged on in his longing for a future life; but the word of revelation, which could alone change desire into hope, is wanting.
In the Talmud (b. Bathra, 16, a) it is observed, on this passage, that Job denies the resurrection of the dead … but Job knows nothing of a resurrection of the dead, and what one knows not, one cannot deny. He knows only that after death, the end of the present life, there is no second life in this world, only a being in Sheôl, which is only an apparent existence = no existence, in which all praise of God is silent … the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead had not been set forth at the time of Job, and of the author of the book of Job. … We shall see by and by, how the more his friends torment him, the more he is urged on in his longing for a future life; but the word of revelation, which could alone change desire into hope, is wanting.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, closing remarks on chapters 6–7; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Job 7:17–21The questions in Job 7:17. are in some degree a parody on Psa 8:5, comp. Psa 144:3, Lam 3:23. There it is said that God exalts puny man to a kingly and divine position among His creatures, and distinguishes him continually with new tokens of His favour; here, that instead of ignoring him, He makes too much of him, by selecting him, perishable as he is, as the object of ever new and ceaseless sufferings. … It is, moreover, not Job's peculiar sin that he thinks God has changed to an enemy against him; that is the view which comes from his vision being beclouded by the conflict through which he is passing, as is frequently the case in the Psalms. His sin does not even consist in the inquiries, How long? and Wherefore? The Psalms in that case would abound in sin. But the sin is that he dwells upon these doubting questions, and thus attributes apparent mercilessness and injustice to God.
The questions in Job 7:17. are in some degree a parody on Psa 8:5, comp. Psa 144:3, Lam 3:23. There it is said that God exalts puny man to a kingly and divine position among His creatures, and distinguishes him continually with new tokens of His favour; here, that instead of ignoring him, He makes too much of him, by selecting him, perishable as he is, as the object of ever new and ceaseless sufferings. … It is, moreover, not Job's peculiar sin that he thinks God has changed to an enemy against him; that is the view which comes from his vision being beclouded by the conflict through which he is passing, as is frequently the case in the Psalms. His sin does not even consist in the inquiries, How long? and Wherefore? The Psalms in that case would abound in sin. But the sin is that he dwells upon these doubting questions, and thus attributes apparent mercilessness and injustice to God.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 7:17–19, and closing remarks on chapters 6–7; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Job 7
Job 7:7–21, World English Bible
Job 7 in the Bible · Told in the Story: Chapter 17, Job’s Friends
What others have written
7 passages from writers of 3 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Oldest first.
The Talmudgathered c. 200–500JewishTract Baba Bathra · on Job 7:9"As the cloud vanisheth and passeth away: so will he that goeth down to the nether world not come up again." Said Rabha: From this we see that Job denied resurrection.
The Talmud, Tract Baba Bathra, Baba Bathra 16a; translated by Michael L. Rodkinson (Boston, 1918); the text of the Internet Sacred Text Archive. The edition
The rabbis' discussions of the law and the Scriptures, gathered in Babylonia over three centuries, each saying under the name of the rabbi who said it.
Gregory the Greatc. 540–604Early church, WestMorals on the Book of Job · on Job 7:20–21Well therefore is it said, Thou hast set me opposite to Thee, so that I am a burthen to myself, in that whilst man being banished is both subject to annoyances in the flesh, and to perplexities in the mind, surely he carries about his own self as a grievous burthen. … But blessed Job regarding these things, and seeking with groans wherefore they were so ordered, does not reproach justice, but interrogates mercy; that in asking he may himself in self-abasement deal a blow to that, which the Divine pity might in sparing alter. As if he said in plain words; ‘Wherefore dost Thou despise man set as in opposition to Thee, Who, I am assured, wouldest not that even he should perish whom Thou art thought to despise?’ … For we can never be free from sin so long as we are held fast in a body of mortality, and therefore he longs for the grace of the Redeemer, i.e. for the wholeness … of the Resurrection, who is looking to have his iniquity entirely ‘taken away.’
Gregory the Great, Morals on the Book of Job, book 8, on 7:20–21; translated in the Library of the Fathers (Oxford, 1844–1850); the text of Lectionary Central. The edition
Bishop of Rome from 590, whose Morals on the Book of Job and sermons on the Gospels were read across the medieval church.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Job 7:7–11Job, observing perhaps that his friends, though they would not interrupt him in his discourse, yet began to grow weary, and not to heed much what he said, here turns to God, and speaks to him. … Yet we must not go to school to Job here to learn how to speak to God; for, it must be confessed, there is a great mixture of passion and corruption in what he here says. But, if God be not extreme to mark what his people say amiss, let us also make the best of it. … Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak; I will complain. Holy David, when he had been meditating on the frailty of human life, made a contrary use of it (Psa 39:9, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth); but Job, finding himself near expiring, hastens as much to make his complaint as if he had been to make his last will and testament or as if he could not die in peace until he had given vent to his passion. … Better die praying and praising than die complaining and quarrelling.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 7:7–16; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Job 7:17–18What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? This may be looked upon either, 1. As a passionate reflection upon the proceedings of divine justice; as if the great God did diminish and disparage himself in contending with man. … We mistake God, and the nature of his providence, if we think it any lessening to him to take notice of the meanest of his creatures. Or, 2. As a pious admiration of the condescensions of divine grace, like that, Psa 8:4; Psa 144:3. He owns God's favour to man in general, even when he complains of his own particular troubles. … That such a worm of the earth as man is should be the darling and favourite of heaven is what we have reason for ever to admire.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 7:17–21; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Gill1697–1771BaptistAn Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on Job 7:8–9the meaning is, that when a man is dead, he is seen no more by men on earth, by his relations, friends, and acquaintance … the state of the dead is an invisible state, and therefore called in the Greek tongue "Hades", "unseen"; so the dead will remain, with respect to the inhabitants of this world, till the resurrection, and then they shall see and be seen again in the same bodies they now have; for this is no denial of the resurrection of the dead, as some Jewish writers charge Job with, and infer from this and some following passages … he comes up no more from it, that is, of himself, by his own power; none but Christ, who is God over all, ever did this … nor will this be done until the general resurrection of the just and unjust, when all that are in their graves shall come forth
John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, on 7:8–9; 1746–1763; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Baptist pastor in London and a scholar of Hebrew and the rabbis, who wrote a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Job 7:9–10In the Talmud (b. Bathra, 16, a) it is observed, on this passage, that Job denies the resurrection of the dead … but Job knows nothing of a resurrection of the dead, and what one knows not, one cannot deny. He knows only that after death, the end of the present life, there is no second life in this world, only a being in Sheôl, which is only an apparent existence = no existence, in which all praise of God is silent … the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead had not been set forth at the time of Job, and of the author of the book of Job. … We shall see by and by, how the more his friends torment him, the more he is urged on in his longing for a future life; but the word of revelation, which could alone change desire into hope, is wanting.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, closing remarks on chapters 6–7; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Job 7:17–21The questions in Job 7:17. are in some degree a parody on Psa 8:5, comp. Psa 144:3, Lam 3:23. There it is said that God exalts puny man to a kingly and divine position among His creatures, and distinguishes him continually with new tokens of His favour; here, that instead of ignoring him, He makes too much of him, by selecting him, perishable as he is, as the object of ever new and ceaseless sufferings. … It is, moreover, not Job's peculiar sin that he thinks God has changed to an enemy against him; that is the view which comes from his vision being beclouded by the conflict through which he is passing, as is frequently the case in the Psalms. His sin does not even consist in the inquiries, How long? and Wherefore? The Psalms in that case would abound in sin. But the sin is that he dwells upon these doubting questions, and thus attributes apparent mercilessness and injustice to God.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 7:17–19, and closing remarks on chapters 6–7; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.