Job
Chapter 7
A man’s life on Earth is a thankless job, his days are like those of a mercenary.
Like a slave, he longs for the shade of evening, like a hireling waiting for his wages.
So I am given months of boredom and nights filled with grief and misery.
In bed, I ask, “When shall the day break?” When I get up, I think: “When will evening come?” And I toss restlessly until dawn.
My body is covered with worms and scabs; my skin festers with boils and cracks.
My days pass swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, heading without hope to their end.
My life is like wind, you well know it, O God; never will I see happiness again.
The eye that saw me will see me no more; when you look for me, I shall have gone.
As a cloud dissolves and vanishes, so he who goes to the grave never returns.
He will never come back to his house; or be seen by his household.
So I will not hold back my words, and I will speak out in anguish; and complain with an embittered soul:
“Am I the sea or a monster of the deep, that you keep me under watch?”
When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will soothe my pain,
then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions;
I would prefer death by strangling rather than such a trial.
See I am dying, never to live again. Leave me alone; I am done.
What is mankind that you care so much about him, that you pay him so much attention,
that every morning you examine him and scrutinize him constantly?
Will you never take your eyes off me and give me respite to swallow my spittle?
Suppose I sinned, what has it done to you, O keeper of humans? Why choose me as your target? Have I become a burden to you?
Why not forgive my sin and remove my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust, and if you seek me, I will be gone then.
Commentaries
First Speech Session.
Appalled by Job’s laments and his repeated “whys,” the three friends break their wise silence and feel urged to reply. The speeches are divided into three sessions: 4:1-14:22, 15:1-21:34, and 22:1-27:23. In the first two, each friend speaks, and Job responds extensively. The third session seems somewhat disorganized, likely due to confusion in the text.
Job’s Response to Eliphaz.
Job responds with a powerful emotional outburst. His pain and suffering are too overwhelming for calm words (6:1f), but he must speak; indeed, he needs to speak. Job then turns to prayer. Like in chapter 3, he still longs for death, but this desire never leads him to consider suicide. Job is not a cold stone or a bronze statue without feelings (6:12), but a living person who has hit rock bottom. Finally acknowledging his friends’ presence, he shares what friendship means to him. A friend is expected to be loyal and kind during times of distress. However, his friends are like the streams of Palestine that quickly fill with rain but then dry up. They cannot be trusted (6:14-21): they came, they saw, and they left (6:21). Job challenges them to tell him how he has sinned to deserve such suffering (6:24). Job does not stay silent. In the context of the entire book, verse 7:11 is particularly significant. The test Satan proposed was to see how Job would react, what he would say. Now he speaks. Why does God not leave him alone, or at least give him enough time to catch his breath? (7:19). Even if he has sinned (again, the question!), can’t God forgive him? An abyss separates any possible guilt on Job’s part from his sufferings. Soon he will die, and then it will be too late (7:20ff).