Is there not a {Or, time of service}warfare to man upon earth?
And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow,
And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:
So am I made to possess months of misery,
And wearisome nights are appointed to me.
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.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;
My skin {Or, is broken and become loathsome}closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
Oh remember that my life is a breath:
Mine eye shall no more see good.
The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more;
Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,
So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
He shall return no more to his house,
Neither shall his place know him any more.
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.
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster,
That thou settest a watch over me?
When I say, My bed shall comfort me,
My couch shall ease my complaint;
Then thou scarest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me through visions:
So that my soul chooseth strangling,
And death rather than these my bones.
{Or, I waste away}I loathe my life; I {Or, shall}would not live alway:
Let me alone; for my days are {Or, as a breath}vanity.
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him,
And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
And that thou shouldest visit him every morning,
And try him every moment?
How long wilt thou not look away from me,
Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
If I have sinned, what {Or, can I do}do I unto thee, O thou {Or, preserver}watcher of men?
Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee,
So that I am a burden to myself?
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.
Querverweise zu Hiob 7,12 Hiob 7,12
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him,And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
{[Chapter 40:25 in Hebrew]}Canst thou draw out {That is, the crocodile.}leviathan with a fishhook?Or press down his tongue with a cord?
Canst thou put {Hebrew: a rope of rushes.}a rope into his nose?Or pierce his jaw through with a {Or, spike}hook?
Will he make many supplications unto thee?Or will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee,That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?Will they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons,Or his head with fish-spears?
Lay thy hand upon him;Remember the battle, and do so no more.
{[Chapter 41:1 in Hebrew]}Behold, the hope of him is in vain:Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
None is so fierce that he dare stir him up;Who then is he that can stand before me?
Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
Who can {Hebrew: uncover the face of his garment.}strip off his outer garment?Who shall come within his jaws?
Who can open the doors of his face? {Or, His teeth are terrible round about}Round about his teeth is terror.
His {Or, courses of scales Hebrew: channels of shields.}strong scales are his pride,Shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another,That no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.
His sneezings flash forth light,And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth go burning torches,And sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindleth coals,And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
In his neck abideth strength,And terror danceth before him.
The flakes of his flesh are joined together:They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone;Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid:By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail;Nor the spear, the dart, nor the {Or, coat of mail}pointed shaft.
He counteth iron as straw,And brass as rotten wood.
The {Hebrew: son of the bow.}arrow cannot make him flee:Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble:He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds:He spreadeth as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
He maketh a path to shine after him;One would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not his like,That is made without fear.
He beholdeth everything that is high:He is king over all the sons of pride.
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,When it brake forth, {Or, and issued}as if it had issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds the garment thereof,And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
And {Hebrew: brake.}marked out for it my bound,And set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth; he hath made my chain heavy.