HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 826
JOB 7
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But I don’t have the strength to endure.
I have nothing to live for.
Do I have the strength of a stone?
Is my body made of bronze?
No, I am utterly helpless,
without any chance of success.
“One should be kind to a fainting friend,
but you accuse me without any fear of
the Almighty.*
My brothers, you have proved as unreliable
as a seasonal brook
that overflows its banks in the spring
when it is swollen with ice and melting
snow.
But when the hot weather arrives, the water
disappears.
The brook vanishes in the heat.
The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
The caravans from Tema search for this
water;
the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
They count on it but are disappointed.
When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
You, too, have given no help.
You have seen my calamity, and you are
afraid.
But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
Have I begged for anything of yours for
myself?
Have I asked you to rescue me from my
enemies,
or to save me from ruthless people?
Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
Show me what I have done wrong.
• Rest
JO B 7 :1 -1 1
In this hauntingly modern confession
of overwhelming fatigue, pain, and
despair, Job voices the deepest needs
and longings of the human soul. His
personal tragedies included the loss of
his wealth, his family, and his health—and
nearly his faith in God. He wakes up
unrested, drags himself through the day,
and falls into bed exhausted but unable
to sleep. Job’s suffering has led him to
feel alienated from God and from other
people. But here he cries out to God in
honest anguish, pleading for relief from
his pain. When you are exhausted and
feel that you can’t go on, remember that
the first step toward healing and rest is
to pour out all that you are feeling to the
God of the universe.
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Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
Do you think your words are convincing
when you disregard my cry of desperation?
You would even send an orphan into
slavery*
or sell a friend.
Look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
Stop assuming my guilt,
for I have done no wrong.
Do you think I am lying?
Don’t I know the difference between right
and wrong?
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“Is not all human life a struggle?
Our lives are like that of a hired hand,
like a worker who longs for the shade,
like a servant waiting to be paid.
I, too, have been assigned months of futility,
long and weary nights of misery.
Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be
morning?’
But the night drags on, and I toss till
dawn.
My body is covered with maggots and scabs.
My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.
1
Job Cries Out to God
6 “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.
They end without hope.
7 O God, remember that my life is but
a breath,
and I will never again feel happiness.
8 You see me now, but not for long.
You will look for me, but I will be gone.
9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,
those who die* will not come back.
10 They are gone forever from their home—
never to be seen again.
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“I cannot keep from speaking.
I must express my anguish.
My bitter soul must complain.
Am I a sea monster or a dragon
that you must place me under guard?
I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
and sleep will ease my misery,’
but then you shatter me with dreams
and terrify me with visions.
I would rather be strangled—
rather die than suffer like this.
I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
Oh, leave me alone for my few
remaining days.
“What are people, that you should make so
much of us,
that you should think of us so often?
6:14 Or friend, / or he might lose his fear of the Almighty.
6:27 Hebrew even gamble over an orphan. 7:9 Hebrew who
go down to Sheol.