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[1] I hate my own life. So I will complain freely. My soul is very bitter, so now I will speak.

[2] I will say to God: 'Don’t blame me! Tell me, What have I done wrong? What do you have against me?

[3] God, does hurting me make you happy? It seems that you don’t care about what you made. Or maybe you are happy with the plans that bad people make?

[4] God, do you have human eyes? Do you see things the way people do?

[5] Is your life as short as ours? Is your life as short as a man’s life? No! ˻So how do you know what it’s like?˼

[6] You look for my wrong and search for my sin.

[7] You know I am innocent, but no one can save me from your power!

[8] God, your hands made me and shaped my body. But now they are closing in on me and destroying me!

[9] God, remember, you made me like clay. Will you make into clay again?

[10] You pour me out like milk. You spin me and squeeze me like someone making cheese.

[11] You put me together with bones and muscles. And then you clothed me with skin and flesh.

[12] You gave me life and were very kind to me. You cared for me and watched over my spirit.

[13] But this is what you hid in your heart, I know this is what you secretly planned in your heart. Yes, I know this is what was in your mind:

[14] If I sinned, you would be watching me, so you could punish me for doing wrong.

[15] When I sin, I am guilty and it will be very bad for me. But I can’t lift up my head even when I am innocent! I am so ashamed and embarrassed.

[16] If I have any success and feel proud, you hunt me like a person hunts a lion. You again show your power against me.

[17] You always have someone to prove I am wrong. Your will show your anger at me again and again in many ways, as you send one army after another against me.

[18] So, God, why did you let me be born? I wish I had died before anyone saw me.

[19] I wish I had never lived. I wish I had been carried from my mother’s womb straight to the grave.

[20] My life is almost finished. So leave me alone! Let me enjoy the little time I have left,

[21] before I go to the place that no person comes back from, the place of darkness and death.

[22] ˻Let me enjoy the little time I have left˼ before I go to the place no one can see that place of darkness, shadows, and confusion. In that place even the light is dark.’”

Job — Chapters