Job continues
Why is life so hard?
1Why is life so hard?
Why do we suffer?
2We are slaves in search of shade;
we are labourers longing
for our wages.
3God has made my days drag on
and my nights miserable.
4I pray for night to end,
but it stretches out
while I toss and turn.
5My parched skin is covered
with worms, dirt, and sores,
6and my days are running out
quicker than the thread
of a fast-moving needle.
Don't forget!
7I beg you, God, don't forget!
My life is just a breath,
and trouble lies ahead.
8I will vanish from sight,
and no one, including you,
will ever see me again.
9I will disappear in the grave
or vanish from sight
like a passing cloud.
10Never will I return home;
soon I will be forgotten.
11And so, I cry out to you
in agony and distress.
12Am I the sea or a sea monster?
Is that why you imprison me?
13I go to bed, hoping for rest,
14but you torture me
with terrible dreams.
15-16I'd rather choke to death
than live in this body.
Leave me alone and let me die;
my life has no meaning.
17What makes you so concerned
about us humans?
18Why do you test us
from sunrise to sunset?
19Won't you look away
just long enough
for me to swallow?
20Why do you watch us so closely?
What's it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
and such a heavy burden?
21Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won't find me,
because I'll be dead.