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