The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible

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Job 7:1–21 — Job Continues: Life Seems Futile. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Here it means that man on the earth was enlisted, so to speak, for a certain time. He had a certain and definite hard service to perform, and which he must continue to discharge until he was relieved by death.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The reference is to the hard service of the soldier, in which there are two elements, the fixed period and the hard toil of the campaign.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Has not a hired servant some rest and ease? Then in this my continual torment I am worse than a hireling.

Geneva reads the verse as Job’s complaint that he lacks even the hireling’s evening rest; the others read it as a general claim about every human life. Both are in the text: v. 1 is general, v. 3 personal.

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“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hă·lō- le·’ĕ·nō·wōš ṣā·ḇā ʿal ’ā·reṣ wə·ḵî·mê yā·māw śā·ḵîr

Word by word8 · parsed

הֲלֹא־hă·lō-Is notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

lōʼ: not Interrogative hă-lōʼ: a rhetorical question expecting “yes.”

לֶאֱנ֣וֹשׁle·’ĕ·nō·wōšmanH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Preposition-lNounmasculine singular

ʼĕnôwsh: mortal man The frail-man word. Job speaks first of the race, then (v. 3) narrows to himself; the same noun returns in v. 17 (“What is ʼĕnôš?”), so the chapter is bracketed by human frailty.

צָבָ֣אṣā·ḇāconsigned to laborH6635

√ tsâbâʼ — a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially regNouncommon singular

tsâbâʼ: host, warfare, service The same noun names the LORD of hosts and Israel’s completed “warfare” in Isa 40:2. Barnes: man “was enlisted, so to speak, for a certain time.” Cambridge sees two elements: the fixed period and the hard toil. Job’s plea is the conscript’s: the term is set by another, and he longs for discharge.

עַלʿalonH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

אָ֑רֶץ’ā·reṣearthH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Nounfeminine singular

וְכִימֵ֖יwə·ḵî·mêAre not his daysH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-kNounmasculine plural construct

יָמָֽיו׃yā·māwlike thoseH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular

שָׂכִ֣ירśā·ḵîrof a hired handH7916

√ sâkîyr — a man at wages by the day or yearAdjectivemasculine singular

sâkîyr: hired man A relatively uncommon word (17 verses). Law protected his wage (Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14 to 15); Job will reuse the figure at 14:6, asking God to “look away” until he finishes his day like a hireling.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“Is-not a-warfare to-mortal-man upon earth, and-like-the-days-of a-hired-hand his-days?”

Where the English smooths the original

צָבָא צָבָא (ṣā·ḇā, H6635): BSB “consigned to labor.” The noun is the word for a host or army, then military service (Isa 40:2, “her warfare is ended”). Benson, Barnes, Gill, Pulpit and K&D all render or gloss “warfare”; K&D insists it “is not service of a labourer in the field, but active military service.” The English loses the conscript’s fixed term.
לֶאֱנוֹשׁ לֶאֱנוֹשׁ (le·’ĕ·nō·wōš, H582): not ʼādām but ʼĕnôš, the word Gill says “signifies… a frail, feeble, mortal man.” “Man” in English flattens the note of frailty that v. 17 will pick up again with the same word.
שָׂכִיר שָׂכִיר (śā·ḵîr, H7916): a man hired “by the day or year.” Cambridge notes it can mean a mercenary soldier (Jer 46:21), matching the military image, though in v. 2 it plainly means a hired laborer. BSB’s “hired hand” is right, but the double sense is lost.

Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kə·‘e·ḇeḏ yiš·’ap̄- ṣêl ū·ḵə·śā·ḵîr yə·qaw·weh p̄ā·‘o·lōw

Word by word6 · parsed

כְּעֶ֥בֶדkə·‘e·ḇeḏLike a slaveH5650

√ ʻebed — a servantPreposition-kNounmasculine singular

ʻebed: servant, slave Benson distinguishes the ʻebed, whose service has no fixed end, from the śāḵîr, hired for a set term: Job compares himself to both.

יִשְׁאַף־yiš·’ap̄-he longs forH7602

√ shâʼaph — to inhale eagerlyVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

shâʼaph: pant, gasp A strong physical verb. The “shade” is likely evening’s lengthening shadow (Barnes, JFB, Pulpit), the signal that the day’s labor is over.

צֵ֑לṣêlshadeH6738

√ tsêl — shade, whether literal or figurativeNounmasculine singular

וּ֝כְשָׂכִ֗ירū·ḵə·śā·ḵîrlike a hirelingH7916

√ sâkîyr — a man at wages by the day or yearConjunctive waw, Preposition-kAdjectivemasculine singular

יְקַוֶּ֥הyə·qaw·wehhe waits forH6960

√ qâvâh — to bind together (perhaps by twisting), iVerbPielImperfectthird person masculine singular

qâvâh: wait, hope (Piel) The Piel of eager expectation (Ps 40:1, “I waited patiently”). The hireling’s hope has an object: a wage at sundown. JFB presses this: if the servant may long for evening, “why may not Job long for the close of his hard service?”

פָעֳלֽוֹ׃p̄ā·‘o·lōwhis wagesH6467

√ pôʻal — an act or work (concretely)Nounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

pôʻal: work, its wage The same word can mean the deed or what it earns. Gill and Barnes see a hint of future reward; ⚙ the text itself states only the analogy, not a doctrine of reward.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Like-a-slave he-pants-for shade, and-like-a-hireling he-waits-for his-work.

Where the English smooths the original

יִשְׁאַף יִשְׁאַף (yiš·’ap̄, H7602): “longs for” is mild. Barnes: the verb means “to breathe hard, to pant, to blow, and then to desire earnestly”; the KJV margin has “gapeth after.” It is the gasp of a laborer in the heat.
פָעֳלוֹ פָעֳלוֹ (p̄ā·‘o·lōw, H6467): literally “his work.” Pulpit and Benson note the word carries both “work” and “the wages of work” (Lev 19:13; Jer 22:13). BSB’s “wages” is the right sense but hides the metonymy.
יְקַוֶּה יְקַוֶּה (yə·qaw·weh, Piel of qāwāh, H6960): “waits for,” from the root of tiqwāh, “hope.” The hireling waits in hope for his pay; four verses later Job’s days end “without tiqwāh” (v. 6). English “waits” loses the root echo.

So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed to me.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kên hā·nə·ḥal·tî lî yar·ḥê- šāw wə·lê·lō·wṯ ‘ā·māl min·nū- lî

Word by word9 · parsed

כֵּ֤ןkênSoH3651

√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb

הָנְחַ֣לְתִּיhā·nə·ḥal·tîI am allottedH5157

√ nâchal — to inherit (as a (figurative) mode of descent), or (generally) to occupyVerbHofalPerfectfirst person common singular

nâchal: inherit (Hophal) The verb of Israel’s land allotment. Here the portion is pain. Cambridge: “They are laid on him by the will of another.”

לִ֭יlî

Prepositionfirst person common singular

יַרְחֵי־yar·ḥê-monthsH3391

√ yerach — a lunation, iNounmasculine plural construct

שָׁ֑וְאšāwof futilityH7723

√ shâvᵉʼ — evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile)Nounmasculine singular

shâvᵉʼ: emptiness, deceit Not merely “useless” but deceptive; compare Job 15:31, “let him not trust in šāwʼ,” which K&D cites.

וְלֵיל֥וֹתwə·lê·lō·wṯand nightsH3915

√ layil — properly, a twist (away of the light), iConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct

עָ֝מָ֗ל‘ā·mālof miseryH5999

√ ʻâmâl — toil, iNounmasculine singular

ʻâmâl: toil, misery Barnes notes the LXX’s “nights of pangs” and that the word is used of the severest trouble, as in the Servant’s “travail of his soul” (Isa 53:11).

מִנּוּ־min·nū-are appointedH4487

√ mânâh — properly, to weigh outVerbPielPerfectthird person common plural

mânâh: count, appoint (Piel) The verb of measured allotment (Jonah 1:17, the LORD “appointed” a fish). Job’s nights are numbered out to him; JFB: “marking well the unavoidable doom assigned to him.”

לִֽי׃lîto me

Prepositionfirst person common singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

So I-have-been-made-to-inherit months-of emptiness, and-nights-of toil they-have-counted-out to-me.

Where the English smooths the original

הָנְחַלְתִּי הָנְחַלְתִּי (hā·nə·ḥal·tî, Hophal of nāḥal, H5157): “I am allotted.” The root is inheritance; the Hophal is passive: “I have been made to inherit.” JFB calls it irony: inheriting “is usually a matter of joy; but here it is the entail of an involuntary and dismal inheritance.”
שָׁוְא שָׁוְא (šāw, H7723): “futility.” The word means emptiness, falsehood, deceit (the “vain” of the third commandment). K&D: “months that one after another disappoint the hope of the sick.” Benson: “false and deceitful.” These months promise relief and lie.
מִנּוּ מִנּוּ (min·nū, Piel perfect 3rd plural, H4487): “are appointed.” Literally “they have counted out.” K&D reads the plural as impersonal (“adnumeratae sunt”); Gill floats a reference to Elohim. ⚙ The impersonal reading is the safer one.

When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’im- šā·ḵaḇ·tî wə·’ā·mar·tî mā·ṯay ’ā·qūm ‘ā·reḇ ū·mid·daḏ- wə·śā·ḇa‘·tî nə·ḏu·ḏîm ‘ă·ḏê- nā·šep̄

Word by word11 · parsed

אִם־’im-WhenH518

√ ʼim — used very widely as demonstrative, lo!Conjunction

שָׁכַ֗בְתִּיšā·ḵaḇ·tîI lie downH7901

√ shâkab — to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)VerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

shâkab: lie down Opens the night scene. The same verb closes the chapter (v. 21): “now in the dust I shall lie down.” The bed he cannot rest in becomes the grave he longs for.

וְאָמַ֗רְתִּיwə·’ā·mar·tîI thinkH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular

מָתַ֣יmā·ṯayWhenH4970

√ mâthay — properly, extent (of time)Interrogative

mâthay: when? The sufferer’s question; compare Deut 28:67, “In the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’” (cited by Cambridge and Pulpit).

אָ֭קוּם’ā·qūmwill I get upH6965

√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)VerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

עָ֑רֶב‘ā·reḇBut the nightH6153

√ ʻereb — duskNounmasculine singular

וּמִדַּד־ū·mid·daḏ-drags onH4058

√ mâdad — properly, to stretchConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

mâdad: measure, stretch If Piel of māḏaḏ, the evening “measures itself out”; if a noun from nāḏaḏ, it is the evening’s “flight.” K&D (after Ebrard) hears a play with nəḏuḏîm, “tossings,” in the same line.

וְשָׂבַ֖עְתִּיwə·śā·ḇa‘·tîand I toss and turnH7646

√ sâbaʻ — to sate, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular

sâbaʻ: be sated Usually a blessing word (Deut 8:10, “you will eat and be satisfied”). Here Job is “satisfied” with restlessness, a bitter inversion.

נְדֻדִ֣יםnə·ḏu·ḏîm. . .H5076

√ nâdud — properly, tossedNounmasculine plural

עֲדֵי־‘ă·ḏê-untilH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

נָֽשֶׁף׃nā·šep̄dawnH5399

√ nesheph — properly, a breeze, iNounmasculine singular

nesheph: twilight From a root meaning to breathe or blow (Barnes): the breezy half-light. It can mean dusk or dawn; here, by context, the dawn he waits for.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

If I-lie-down, then-I-say, “When shall-I-arise?” And-the-evening stretches-out, and-I-am-sated with-tossings until twilight.

Where the English smooths the original

וּמִדַּד וּמִדַּד (ū·mid·daḏ, H4058): BSB “drags on,” taking it as Piel of māḏaḏ, “to measure, stretch.” K&D, following the metre, reads a noun from nāḏaḏ, “flight”: “when shall the fleeing away of the evening be?” JFB and Gesenius agree. The parse is disputed; the sense of an endless night is the same either way.
וְשָׂבַעְתִּי וְשָׂבַעְתִּי (wə·śā·ḇa‘·tî, H7646): “I toss and turn” collapses two words. The verb is śāḇaʻ, “to be sated, glutted”: “I am filled full of tossings.” Gill: “he was glutted and sated with them, as a man is with overmuch eating.”
עָרֶב עָרֶב (‘ā·reḇ, H6153): BSB “night”; strictly “evening” (Gen 1:5). K&D: “The night is described by its commencement, the late evening, to make the long interval… prominent.”

My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bə·śā·rî lā·ḇaš rim·māh wə·ḡīš ‘ā·p̄ār ‘ō·w·rî rā·ḡa‘ way·yim·mā·’ês

Word by word8 · parsed

בְּשָׂרִ֣יbə·śā·rîMy fleshH1320

√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

לָ֘בַ֤שׁlā·ḇašis clothedH3847

√ lâbash — properly, wrap around, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

lâbash: put on, be clothed Garment language for disease. Job will later say “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me” (29:14); ⚙ the contrast is the poet’s own irony across the book.

רִ֭מָּהrim·māhwith wormsH7415

√ rimmâh — a maggot (as rapidly bred), literally or figurativelyNounfeminine singular

rimmâh: maggot, worm A rare word (7 verses). It recurs at Job 21:26 and 25:6 and at Isa 14:11, where the king of Babylon goes down to Sheol and “maggots are your bed.” Job wears in life what Isaiah’s tyrant receives in death.

וְגִישׁwə·ḡīšand encrustedH1487

√ gûwsh — a mass of earthConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

עָפָ֑ר‘ā·p̄ārwith dirtH6083

√ ʻâphâr — dust (as powdered or gray)Nounmasculine singular

עוֹרִ֥י‘ō·w·rîmy skinH5785

√ ʻôwr — skin (as naked)Nounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

רָ֝גַ֗עrā·ḡa‘is crackedH7280

√ râgaʻ — properly, to toss violently and suddenly (the sea with waves, the skin with boils)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

râgaʻ: contract, harden Strong’s gives “to toss violently and suddenly… the skin with boils.” K&D: “The skin heals… the result is that it becomes moist again.”

וַיִּמָּאֵֽס׃way·yim·mā·’êsand festeringH3988

√ mâʼaç — to spurnConjunctive wawVerbNifalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

mâʼaç: reject, loathe (Niphal) If from māʼas, Job’s skin becomes “rejected,” and in v. 16 he rejects his life: the body’s loathsomeness becomes the soul’s.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

My-flesh is-clothed with-maggot and-clod-of dust; my-skin hardens and-runs-again.

Where the English smooths the original

לָבַשׁ לָבַשׁ (lā·ḇaš, H3847): “clothed,” the ordinary verb for putting on a garment. Poole: “covered all over as with a garment.” The man once robed in honor (29:14, same verb) now wears worms.
רָגַע רָגַע (rā·ḡa‘, H7280): BSB “is cracked.” Barnes notes the meaning “to shrink together, contract”; K&D renders “my skin heals up,” Cambridge “my skin closes.” The picture is a cycle: the sore crusts over.
וַיִּמָּאֵס וַיִּמָּאֵס (way·yim·mā·’ês, H3988): BSB “festering.” Either Niphal of māʼas, “become loathsome,” or, as K&D and Gesenius take it, equal to mās, “melt, run” (Ps 58:7). Cambridge: “breaks afresh.” The same root, active, opens v. 16: “I loathe.”

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yā·may qal·lū min·nî- ’ā·reḡ way·yiḵ·lū bə·’e·p̄es tiq·wāh

Word by word7 · parsed

יָמַ֣יyā·mayMy daysH3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural constructfirst person common singular

קַ֭לּוּqal·lūare swifterH7043

√ qâlal — to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

qâlal: be light, swift The root of lightness and contempt. Job 9:25 uses it again: “my days are swifter than a runner.”

מִנִּי־min·nî-thanH4480

√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition

אָ֑רֶג’ā·reḡa weaver’s shuttleH708

√ ʼereg — a weavingNounmasculine singular

ʼereg: shuttle, web Henry: “every day, like the shuttle, leaves a thread behind… every man shall… wear as he wove.” Hezekiah uses the loom for the same thought: “like a weaver I have rolled up my life; He cuts me off from the loom” (Isa 38:12, cited by Barnes and JFB).

וַ֝יִּכְל֗וּway·yiḵ·lūthey come to an endH3615

√ kâlâh — to end, whether intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish) or transitived (to complete, prepare, consume)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

kâlâh: be finished, consumed The verb of completion. It returns in v. 9 of the cloud that “vanishes”: the days and the cloud end with the same word.

בְּאֶ֣פֶסbə·’e·p̄eswithoutH657

√ ʼepheç — cessation, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct

תִּקְוָֽה׃tiq·wāhhopeH8615

√ tiqvâh — literally a cord (as an attachment)Nounfeminine singular

tiqvâh: hope, cord The cognate of qāwāh in v. 2. The hireling’s hope has an object; Job’s has run out. Pulpit: “Job does not share in the hopes which Eliphaz has held out… He has no hope but in death.” Compare Job 19:25, where hope is reborn as “I know that my Redeemer lives.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

My-days are-swifter than a-shuttle, and-they-are-finished at-the-end-of hope.

Where the English smooths the original

אָרֶג אָרֶג (’ā·reḡ, H708): “a weaver’s shuttle.” An extremely rare word (2 verses); its only other use is Judg 16:14, where it is the loom or web into which Delilah weaves Samson’s hair. K&D: “like κερκίς, radius, a weaver’s shuttle.” Whether shuttle or web, the image is cloth being finished.
בְּאֶפֶס בְּאֶפֶס (bə·’e·p̄es, H657): BSB “without.” The noun means cessation, the end, “nothing”: “in the end of hope,” “with hope at zero.” Stronger than a simple negative.
תִּקְוָה תִּקְוָה (tiq·wāh, H8615): “hope.” Strong’s: “literally a cord (as an attachment).” The same noun is Rahab’s scarlet cord (Josh 2:18). ⚙ In a weaving image, “the thread runs out” may be a deliberate pun; no commentator in this brief makes it, so it is offered as possible, not certain.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

He turns his speech to God; perhaps observing that his friends grew weary of hearing it. If men will not hear us, God will: if men cannot help us, he can: for his arm is not shortened, neither is his ear heavy.

source ↗

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

but then the state of the dead, though not extinction, was not to be called life, it was but a dreary, dreamy shadow of life, having no fellowship with the living, whether men or God;

source ↗

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

he knew he should, after this life, see his living Redeemer even with the eyes of his body, when raised again;

Gill reads 19:25 to 27 back into 7:7. Cambridge and K&D take Job at his word here: at this point in the dialogue he sees no return. The book itself moves from one stance to the other.

source ↗

Remember that my life is but a breath. My eyes will never again see happiness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

zə·ḵōr kî- ḥay·yāy rū·aḥ ‘ê·nî lō- ṯā·šūḇ lir·’ō·wṯ ṭō·wḇ

Word by word9 · parsed

זְ֭כֹרzə·ḵōrRememberH2142

√ zâkar — properly, to mark (so as to be recognized), iVerbQalImperativemasculine singular

zâkar: remember The prayer verb of the covenant (Exod 2:24; Ps 25:6). Gill: “not that forgetfulness is in God… but he may seem to forget the frailty of man when he lays his hand heavy on him.”

כִּי־kî-thatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

חַיָּ֑יḥay·yāymy lifeH2416

√ chay — aliveNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common singular

ר֣וּחַrū·aḥis but a breathH7307

√ rûwach — windNouncommon singular

rûwach: wind, breath, spirit The same noun returns in v. 11 (“the anguish of my rûaḥ”). Job’s life is wind, and out of that wind he will speak.

עֵ֝ינִ֗י‘ê·nîMy eyesH5869

√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Nouncommon singular constructfirst person common singular

לֹא־lō-will neverH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

תָשׁ֥וּבṯā·šūḇagainH7725

√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)VerbQalImperfectthird person feminine singular

shûwb: return The no-return theme begins here and runs through v. 10. Death is the one road on which there is no going back.

לִרְא֥וֹתlir·’ō·wṯseeH7200

√ râʼâh — to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

טֽוֹב׃ṭō·wḇhappinessH2896

√ ṭôwb — good (as an adjective) in the widest senseNounmasculine singular

ṭôwb: good Prosperity, joy (K&D). Cambridge notes the “state of the dead… was but a dreary, dreamy shadow of life”; Gill insists Job means only temporal good, since 19:26 hopes to see God.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Remember that my-life is wind; my-eye will-not return to-see good.

Where the English smooths the original

זְכֹר זְכֹר (zə·ḵōr, Qal imperative, H2142): the first time in the chapter Job addresses God directly. The imperative is addressed to a “you” (masc. sg.); Poole and Barnes agree it is God. English “Remember” hides the sudden turn from talking about God to talking to Him.
רוּחַ רוּחַ (rū·aḥ, H7307): BSB “a breath.” The word is wind (also spirit). Not hebel (that comes in v. 16). Barnes and Pulpit point to Ps 78:39: God “remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not return,” the same pairing of zāḵar and rûaḥ.
תָשׁוּב תָשׁוּב (ṯā·šūḇ, H7725): “will never again.” Literally “will not return to see.” K&D: šûḇ with an infinitive works like “do again.” The verb of returning recurs in v. 10 (“he will not return to his house”).

The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

‘ên rō·’î lō- ṯə·šū·rê·nî ‘ê·ne·ḵā bî wə·’ê·nen·nî

Word by word7 · parsed

עֵ֣ין‘ênThe eyeH5869

√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Nouncommon singular construct

רֹ֑אִיrō·’îthat beholds meH7210

√ rŏʼîy — sight, whether abstractly (vision) or concretely (a spectacle)VerbQalParticiplemasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

rŏʼîy: sight, vision Only 5 verses. Gen 16:13 (Hagar’s “God who sees me”) shares it; K&D cites that verse for the construction. ⚙ The contrast is sharp: Hagar is seen by God and lives; Job is seen by God and vanishes.

לֹֽא־lō-will noH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

תְ֭שׁוּרֵנִיṯə·šū·rê·nîlonger see meH7789

√ shûwr — to spy out, iVerbQalImperfectthird person feminine singularfirst person common singular

shûwr: gaze, watch A watcher’s verb (Num 24:17, “I behold him, but not near”). Human watchers will lose sight of him.

עֵינֶ֖יךָ‘ê·ne·ḵāYou will lookH5869

√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Nouncdcsecond person masculine singular

ʻayin: eye The shift from human eyes to “your eyes” turns the line toward God. JFB: “Job cannot survive the gaze of Jehovah”; Barnes leans the same way. Cambridge reads it as future: God will look for him “and he shall be gone.”

בִּ֣יbîfor me

Prepositionfirst person common singular

וְאֵינֶֽנִּי׃wə·’ê·nen·nîbut I will be no moreH369

√ ʼayin — a non-entityConjunctive wawAdverbfirst person common singular

ʼayin: nothing, not The negative of existence itself. Job states his death as already accomplished.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

The-eye of-him-who-sees-me will-not behold-me; your-eyes upon-me, and-I-am-not.

Where the English smooths the original

רֹאִי רֹאִי (rō·’î, H7210): BSB “that beholds me.” K&D gives two readings: “eye of my seer” (participle, as Gen 16:13) or rŏʼî, “vision,” “no eye of seeing.” The Strong’s tag (H7210, a rare noun in 5 verses) follows the second. Either way: no human eye will find him.
תְשׁוּרֵנִי תְשׁוּרֵנִי (ṯə·šū·rê·nî, H7789): “see me.” The verb šûr means to watch, gaze, look out for: a stronger, lingering look than BSB’s plain “see.”
וְאֵינֶנִּי וְאֵינֶנִּי (wə·’ê·nen·nî, H369): “but I will be no more.” Literally “and I am not,” a bare particle of non-existence with a pronoun suffix and no verb. Poole compares Gen 5:24, Enoch “was not.” The same word closes the chapter (v. 21).

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

It is a fine simile that man is as evanescent as a cloud; and very apt is the figure, because, whether it vanishes on the surface of the sky or is distributed in rain, nothing more completely passes away than the summer cloud.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

This is never in the Old Testament confounded with the grave, although, being an ideal place and state, the imagination often paints it in colours borrowed from the grave and the condition of the body in death;

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

Job knows nothing of a demanding back, a redemption from Sheôl.

K&D’s statement holds for chapter 7; it is the background against which 14:13 to 15 and 19:25 to 27 later strain toward hope. Barnes, Poole and JFB resist reading v. 9 as a denial of resurrection.

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As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

‘ā·nān kā·lāh way·yê·laḵ kên yō·w·rêḏ šə·ʾôl lō ya·‘ă·leh

Word by word8 · parsed

עָ֭נָן‘ā·nānAs a cloudH6051

√ ʻânân — a cloud (as covering the sky), iNounmasculine singular

ʻânân: cloud Henry: “Other clouds arise, but the same cloud never returns.” Hosea 6:4 uses the morning cloud for fickle love; Job uses it for no return.

כָּלָ֣הkā·lāhvanishesH3615

√ kâlâh — to end, whether intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish) or transitived (to complete, prepare, consume)VerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

kâlâh: be consumed Repeats v. 6. The swift days and the dissolving cloud end the same way.

וַיֵּלַ֑ךְway·yê·laḵand is goneH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

כֵּ֥ןkênsoH3651

√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb

יוֹרֵ֥דyō·w·rêḏhe who goes downH3381

√ yârad — to descend (literally, to go downwardsVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

yârad: go down The participle (“one going down”) is the standard idiom for dying (Gen 37:35; Isa 14:11, which also shares rimmāh with v. 5).

שְׁ֝א֗וֹלšə·ʾôlto SheolH7585

√ shᵉʼôwl — Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmatesNouncommon singular

shᵉʼôwl: the realm of the dead Only 64 verses. K&D: “Here we first meet with the name of the lower world” in Job. Hannah’s song names the LORD as the one who “brings down to Sheol and raises up” (1 Sam 2:6), the exception Job cannot yet see.

לֹ֣אlōdoes notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

יַעֲלֶֽה׃ya·‘ă·lehcome back upH5927

√ ʻâlâh — to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

ʻâlâh: ascend Barnes and JFB both caution that “shall come up no more” refers to the present order of things, not a denial of resurrection.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

A-cloud is-spent and-goes; so one-going-down to-Sheol will-not come-up.

Where the English smooths the original

כָּלָה כָּלָה (kā·lāh, H3615): “vanishes.” The verb is “be finished, consumed,” the same one used of Job’s days in v. 6. Pulpit: the hot rays of the sun “drink them up.” The English verb change hides the repetition.
שְׁאוֹל שְׁאוֹל (šə·ʾôl, H7585): BSB keeps “Sheol” (KJV “the grave”). Cambridge: “This is never in the Old Testament confounded with the grave.” K&D gives an extended note on the word’s possible derivation from “hollow” or “demand.”
יַעֲלֶה יַעֲלֶה (ya·‘ă·leh, H5927): “come back up.” Simple “will not ascend”; going down (yārad) and coming up (ʻālāh) are the paired verbs of Sheol language (1 Sam 2:6, “He brings down to Sheol and raises up”).

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

We need not force these words too much, as though they forbad our ascribing to Job any belief in a future life or in the resurrection, because, under any circumstances, they are evidently and accurately true of man as we know him here. Even though he may live again in another way, it is not in this world that he lives again, and it is of this world and of man in this world that Job is speaking.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

The Oriental keenly loves his dwelling. In Arabian elegies the desertion of abodes by their occupants is often a theme of sorrow. Grace overcomes this also (Lu 18:29; Ac 4:34).

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

Glorified saints shall return no more to the cares and sorrows of their houses; nor condemned sinners to the gaieties and pleasures of their houses. It concerns us to secure a better place when we die.

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He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lō- ‘ō·wḏ yā·šūḇ lə·ḇê·ṯōw mə·qō·mōw wə·lō- yak·kî·ren·nū ‘ō·wḏ

Word by word8 · parsed

לֹא־lō-He neverH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

ע֣וֹד‘ō·wḏ. . .H5750

√ ʻôwd — properly, iteration or continuanceAdverb

יָשׁ֣וּבyā·šūḇreturnsH7725

shûwb: return Third occurrence of the no-return theme (vv. 7, 10). Gill cites David: “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam 12:23).

לְבֵית֑וֹlə·ḇê·ṯōwto his houseH1004

√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

bayith: house Barnes dwells on it: the table, the fireside, the family circle. JFB: “The Oriental keenly loves his dwelling.”

מְקֹמֽוֹ׃mə·qō·mōwhis placeH4725

√ mâqôwm — properly, a standing, iNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

mâqôwm: place Ellicott: “This language is imitated in Psalm 103:16.” The Verifier confirms shared nāḵar + māqôm with that psalm.

וְלֹא־wə·lō-H3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle

יַכִּירֶ֖נּוּyak·kî·ren·nūremembers himH5234

√ nâkar — properly, to scrutinize, iVerbHifilImperfectthird person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

nâkar: recognize (Hiphil) A moderately rare verb (47 verses). Recognition, not memory: the house will not know whose it once was.

ע֣וֹד‘ō·wḏno moreH5750

√ ʻôwd — properly, iteration or continuanceAdverb

Literal — word-for-word from the original

He-will-not again return to-his-house, and-his-place will-not recognize-him again.

Where the English smooths the original

יַכִּירֶנּוּ יַכִּירֶנּוּ (yak·kî·ren·nū, Hiphil of nāḵar, H5234): BSB “remembers him.” The verb is to recognize (Gen 42:8, Joseph “recognized” his brothers). The place itself would not recognize its old master. The same phrase appears in Ps 103:16.
עוֹד עוֹד (‘ō·wḏ, H5750) twice: the adverb “again, still” brackets the verse (“not again… not again”). BSB absorbs the first into “never” and the second into “no more.”
מְקֹמוֹ מְקֹמוֹ (mə·qō·mōw, H4725): “his place,” personified as subject of the verb. Poole: “The place put for the men of the place.”

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Complaint is not necessarily murmuring; it is sometimes merely expostulation, which God allows

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

From these reasons Job might have drawn a better conclusion than this, I will complain. When we have but a few breaths to draw, we should spend them in the holy, gracious breathings of faith and prayer; not in the noisome, noxious breathings of sin and corruption.

Henry and Pulpit judge Job’s resolve differently. Pulpit cites the psalms of complaint; Henry wants the breath spent in prayer. Job 42:7 bears on both.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

We see what the will of man is, what a stubborn and obstinate thing it is, "I will, I will, I will", even of a good man when left to himself, and not in the exercise of grace

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Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

gam- ’ă·nî lō ’e·ḥĕ·śāḵ pî ’ăḏab·bə·rāh bə·ṣar rū·ḥî ’ā·śî·ḥāh bə·mar nap̄·šî

Word by word11 · parsed

גַּם־gam-ThereforeH1571

√ gam — properly, assemblageConjunction

gam: also The retaliatory “also.” K&D cites parallels (Ezek 16:43; Mal 2:9).

אֲנִי֮’ă·nîIH589

√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

לֹ֤אlōwill notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

אֶחֱשָׂ֫ךְ’e·ḥĕ·śāḵrestrainH2820

√ châsak — to restrain or (reflexVerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

châsak: withhold, restrain 28 verses. The same verb appears in Job 30:10 (they “do not withhold” spitting), one of the Verifier’s candidates.

פִּ֥יpîmy mouthH6310

√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Nounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

אֲ‍ֽ֭דַבְּרָה’ăḏab·bə·rāhI will speakH1696

√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeVerbPielImperfect Cohortativefirst person common singular

dâbar: speak (Piel) The resolve to speak opens Job’s first direct address to God in full. From here to v. 21 everything is said to God.

בְּצַ֣רbə·ṣarin the anguishH6862

√ tsar — narrowPreposition-bAdjectivemasculine singular construct

tsar: narrow, distress The spirit that was “wind” (v. 7) is now squeezed. Psalm 4:1 asks God to give room “in distress” (ṣar).

רוּחִ֑יrū·ḥîof my spiritH7307

√ rûwach — windNouncommon singular constructfirst person common singular

rûwach: spirit Same noun as v. 7. His life is rûaḥ; his anguish is of the rûaḥ.

אָ֝שִׂ֗יחָה’ā·śî·ḥāhI will complainH7878

√ sîyach — to ponder, iVerbQalImperfect Cohortativefirst person common singular

sîyach: muse, complain The verb means to ponder aloud or pour out (Ps 77:3; 142:2). Gill: “to utter in a complaining way what he had been meditating on.” The noun of the same root returns in v. 13 (“my complaint”).

בְּמַ֣רbə·marin the bitternessH4751

√ mar — bitter (literally or figuratively)Preposition-bAdjectivemasculine singular construct

נַפְשִֽׁי׃nap̄·šîof my soulH5315

√ nephesh — properly, a breathing creature, iNounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Also I: I-will-not hold-back my-mouth; let-me-speak in-the-narrowness of-my-spirit, let-me-complain in-the-bitterness of-my-soul.

Where the English smooths the original

גַּם־ גַּם־אֲנִי (gam ’ă·nî, H1571 + H589): BSB “Therefore I.” Literally “Also I / I too.” K&D calls it the “gam talionis”; Gill (after Jarchi): “since God will not refrain his hand from me, I will not refrain my mouth.” Cambridge: “I on my side.” The English “Therefore” loses the defiant tit-for-tat.
אֲדַבְּרָה אֲ‍ֽדַבְּרָה / אָשִׂיחָה (Piel and Qal cohortatives, H1696, H7878): “I will speak… I will complain.” Cohortatives express resolve or self-urging: “let me speak, let me pour out.” BSB’s plain future flattens the resolve.
בְּצַר בְּצַר (bə·ṣar, H6862): “in the anguish.” The adjective means narrow, tight. Gill: “in the straitness of it… like one pent up in a narrow place.” The spirit is hemmed in, matching the guard of v. 12.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

First, he asks with bitter irony if he is the sea or the monster of the sea , that he must be watched and subdued with plagues lest he prove dangerous to the universe?

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

so Job says all his movements are checked at the very commencement, and as soon as he desires to be more cheerful he feels the pang of some fresh pain.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

Am I a sea—regarded in Old Testament poetry as a violent rebel against God, the Lord of nature, who therefore curbs his violence (Jer 5:22).

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Am I not a poor wretch? Why do you need to lay so much pain on me?

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Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ā·nî hăyām- ’im- tan·nîn kî- ṯā·śîm ‘ā·lay miš·mār

Word by word8 · parsed

אָ֭נִי’ā·nîAm IH589

√ ʼănîy — IPronounfirst person common singular

הֲ‍ֽיָם־hăyām-the seaH3220

√ yâm — a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of waterArticleNounmasculine singular

yâm: sea In Old Testament poetry the sea is the chaos power God restrains (JFB: “a violent rebel against God”). Job’s irony: is he that dangerous?

אִם־’im-orH518

√ ʼim — used very widely as demonstrative, lo!Conjunction

תַּנִּ֑יןtan·nînthe monster of the deepH8577

√ tannîyn — a marine or land monster, iNounmasculine singular

tannîyn: sea-monster God created the great tannînim (Gen 1:21) and will slay the tannîn in the sea (Isa 27:1). Job places himself, absurdly, in the role of God’s cosmic enemy; Cambridge says he asks “with bitter irony.”

כִּֽי־kî-thatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

תָשִׂ֖יםṯā·śîmYou must keep me underH7760

√ sûwm — to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

sûwm: set, put Second person: God is the one doing this. The same verb returns in v. 20 (“why have You set me as Your target?”).

עָלַ֣י‘ā·lay. . .H5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionfirst person common singular

מִשְׁמָֽר׃miš·mārguardH4929

√ mishmâr — a guard (the man, the post or the prison)Nounmasculine singular

mishmâr: guard, custody K&D: as the Nile is checked “as soon as it breaks forth,” so “all his movements are checked at the very commencement.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Am-I the-Sea, or-Tannin, that you-set over-me a-guard?

Where the English smooths the original

הֲיָם הֲ‍ֽיָם (hăyām, H3220): BSB “the sea.” The interlinear tags the article: “the Sea,” the personified ocean that God bounds (Job 38:8 to 11; Jer 5:22). K&D thinks of the Nile (called yām in Isa 19:5); Cambridge of the mythic sea itself.
תַּנִּין תַּנִּין (tan·nîn, H8577): BSB “the monster of the deep” (KJV “whale”). Tannîn is the sea-dragon of Gen 1:21, Ps 74:13 and Isa 27:1; 51:9. K&D and Barnes suggest the crocodile; Cambridge the “serpent of the sea… the wild stormy sea itself.”
מִשְׁמָר מִשְׁמָר (miš·mār, H4929): “under guard.” A watch, a guard-post, a prison ward (Gen 40:3 to 4, Joseph “in custody”). Job pictures himself under arrest.

When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kî- ’ā·mar·tî ‘ar·śî tə·na·ḥă·mê·nî miš·kā·ḇî yiś·śā ḇə·śî·ḥî

Word by word7 · parsed

כִּֽי־kî-WhenH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אָ֭מַרְתִּי’ā·mar·tîI thinkH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)VerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

עַרְשִׂ֑י‘ar·śîmy bedH6210

√ ʻeres — a couch (properly, with a canopy)Nounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

ʻeres: couch, bed The canopied couch. Ps 6:6: “I drench my couch with tears.”

תְּנַחֲמֵ֣נִיtə·na·ḥă·mê·nîwill comfort meH5162

√ nâcham — properly, to sigh, iVerbPielImperfectthird person feminine singularfirst person common singular

nâcham: comfort (Piel) A key word of the book: the friends came to comfort (2:11), and Job calls them “miserable comforters” (16:2). The bed fails as well.

מִשְׁכָּבִֽי׃miš·kā·ḇîand my couchH4904

√ mishkâb — a bed (figuratively, a bier)Nounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

יִשָּׂ֥אyiś·śāwill easeH5375

√ nâsâʼ — to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relativeVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

nâsâʼ: lift, bear The same verb returns in v. 21: “Why do You not lift my transgression?” ⚙ Job asks his couch to bear his complaint and God to bear his sin; neither, as he sees it, does.

בְ֝שִׂיחִ֗יḇə·śî·ḥîmy complaintH7879

√ sîyach — a contemplationPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

sîyach: complaint, musing Same root as v. 11.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

When I-say, “My-bed will-comfort-me; my-couch will-bear some-of my-complaint,”

Where the English smooths the original

תְּנַחֲמֵנִי תְּנַחֲמֵנִי (tə·na·ḥă·mê·nî, Piel of nāḥam, H5162): “will comfort me.” The verb the friends came to do (2:11, “to comfort him”). ⚙ Job now looks to his bed for the comfort his comforters have not given.
יִשָּׂא יִשָּׂא (yiś·śā, H5375): “will ease.” Literally “will bear, carry.” K&D: the bə that follows is partitive, so the couch “will bear a part of my complaint.” Barnes: “shall bear; that is, shall lighten or sustain.”
שִׂיחִי בְ֝שִׂיחִ֗י (ḇə·śî·ḥî, H7879): “my complaint.” Cambridge: “Complaint always means complaining, not malady.” The noun echoes the cohortative of v. 11 (“let me complain”).

then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḥit·tat·ta·nî ḇa·ḥă·lō·mō·wṯ tə·ḇa·‘ă·ṯan·nî ū·mê·ḥez·yō·nō·wṯ

Word by word4 · parsed

וְחִתַּתַּ֥נִיwə·ḥit·tat·ta·nîthen You frighten meH2865

√ châthath — properly, to prostrateConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singularfirst person common singular

châthath: shatter, dismay (Piel) Second person: God is named as the agent. JFB: “the common belief assigned all night visions to God.” Gill and Pulpit allow that Satan, by permission, may have been the near cause.

בַחֲלֹמ֑וֹתḇa·ḥă·lō·mō·wṯwith dreamsH2472

√ chălôwm — a dreamPreposition-b, ArticleNounmasculine plural

chălôwm: dream Elihu will later argue that God speaks “in a dream, a vision of the night” to turn man from pride (33:15 to 17; the Verifier links 33:15 by shared ḥizzāyôn, mišḵāḇ and layil). ⚙ What Job feels as terror, Elihu will interpret as warning.

תְּבַעֲתַֽנִּי׃tə·ḇa·‘ă·ṯan·nîand terrify meH1204

√ bâʻath — to fearVerbPielImperfectsecond person masculine singularfirst person common singular

bâʻath: terrify 16 verses. Isa 21:4 pairs it with nešep̄ (twilight, v. 4 here): there the longed-for twilight itself becomes a terror (Verifier: shared H5399 and H1204).

וּֽמֵחֶזְיֹנ֥וֹתū·mê·ḥez·yō·nō·wṯwith visionsH2384

√ chizzâyôwn — a revelation, expectation by dreamConjunctive waw, Preposition-mNounmasculine plural

chizzâyôwn: vision Eliphaz’s night vision (4:13) gave him his theology. Job’s night visions only terrify. ⚙ The same medium, received in opposite ways.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

then-you-shatter-me with-dreams, and-from-visions you-terrify-me,

Where the English smooths the original

וְחִתַּתַּנִי וְחִתַּתַּנִי (wə·ḥit·tat·ta·nî, Piel of ḥāṯaṯ, H2865): “You frighten me.” The root means to be shattered, broken down, dismayed (Strong’s: “to prostrate”). The Piel is intensive: “You break me down.”
חֶזְיֹנוֹת וּֽמֵחֶזְיֹנ֥וֹת (ū·mê·ḥez·yō·nō·wṯ, H2384): “with visions.” Literally “from visions”: K&D, “Thou didst wake me up in terror from visions.” The word is rare (9 verses) and is Eliphaz’s word for his night revelation (4:13; Barnes refers back there).
תְּבַעֲתַנִּי תְּבַעֲתַנִּי (tə·ḇa·‘ă·ṯan·nî, Piel of bāʻaṯ, H1204): “terrify me.” Sudden terror. The Spirit-terror that came on Saul uses this verb (1 Sam 16:14).

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Literally, than these my bones, or, as some take it, a death by these my members: a death inflicted by myself, suicide.

Ellicott reports a reading he does not adopt; Pulpit and Cambridge argue against it. The text does not show Job contemplating self-harm as an act.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Some see here a reference to suicide: but this is s very forced explanation. Suicide, as already observed, seems never even to have occurred to the thoughts of Job

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

So he describes the emaciated skeleton to which he was reduced.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

He speaks as one overcome with sorrow, and not of judgment, or of the examination of his faith.

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so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

nap̄·šî wat·tiḇ·ḥar ma·ḥă·nāq mā·weṯ mê·‘aṣ·mō·w·ṯāy

Word by word5 · parsed

נַפְשִׁ֑יnap̄·šîso that IH5315

√ nephesh — properly, a breathing creature, iNounfeminine singular constructfirst person common singular

nephesh: soul, self Same noun as v. 11 (“the bitterness of my nep̄eš”). The bitter soul now chooses death.

וַתִּבְחַ֣רwat·tiḇ·ḥarwould preferH977

√ bâchar — properly, to try, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person feminine singular

bâchar: choose The covenant verb of choosing life (Deut 30:19) is here turned to choosing death. ⚙ This is a lament in extremity, not a decision Scripture endorses; Job never acts on it, and the book refutes the wish by its outcome (42:12 to 17).

מַחֲנָ֣קma·ḥă·nāqstranglingH4267

√ machănaq — chokingNounmasculine singular

machănaq: strangling Gill: “death in whatsoever way is the stopping of a man’s breath.” K&D sees the respiratory end of the disease.

מָ֝֗וֶתmā·weṯand deathH4194

√ mâveth — death (natural or violent)Nounmasculine singular

מֵֽעַצְמוֹתָֽי׃mê·‘aṣ·mō·w·ṯāyover my life in this bodyH6106

√ ʻetsem — a bone (as strong)Preposition-mNounfeminine plural constructfirst person common singular

ʻetsem: bone Bones as the frame of the self (Ps 35:10, “all my bones shall say”). Satan’s permission reached Job’s “bone and flesh” (2:5), as Poole notes.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

and-my-soul chooses strangling, death rather-than-my-bones.

Where the English smooths the original

נַפְשִׁי נַפְשִׁי (nap̄·šî, H5315): BSB “so that I.” Literally “my nep̄eš,” the subject of the feminine verb that follows. Barnes: “the soul being put for himself.” The idiom is accurate, but the English loses the inner self as the one who chooses.
מַחֲנָק מַחֲנָק (ma·ḥă·nāq, H4267): “strangling,” a hapax-level noun from ḥānaq, to choke (2 Sam 17:23, Ahithophel). K&D and Cambridge: the suffocation that ends the disease. Ellicott and Umbreit (cited by JFB) raise self-inflicted death; Pulpit rejects that as “a very forced explanation.”
מֵעַצְמוֹתָי מֵֽעַצְמוֹתָֽי (mê·‘aṣ·mō·w·ṯāy, H6106): BSB “over my life in this body.” Literally “rather than my bones.” K&D: “this miserable skeleton.” The BSB paraphrase hides how bare the image is.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The words here are hardly a prayer, but something like an imperious command, to such a height of boldness is the sufferer driven by the keenness of his pains.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

My life is in itself, and in its best estate, a vain, unsatisfying, uncertain thing, empty of solid comfort, and exposed to real griefs, and therefore I would not be for ever tied to it.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

A man who is prepared for heaven should not and will not desire to live here always. It is better to depart and to be with Christ, better to leave a world of imperfection and sin, and to go to a world of purity and love.

Barnes builds a Christian sermon on the KJV phrase “I would not live alway,” while admitting that Job used it with “somewhat of impatience.” The application is legitimate (Phil 1:23), but it goes beyond Job’s own meaning here.

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I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

mā·’as·tî lō- ’eḥ·yeh lə·‘ō·lām ḥă·ḏal mim·men·nî kî- yā·māy he·ḇel

Word by word9 · parsed

מָ֭אַסְתִּיmā·’as·tîI loathe [my life]H3988

√ mâʼaç — to spurnVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

mâʼaç: reject, loathe The verb usually describes rejecting God’s word or people (1 Sam 15:23). Here Job rejects his own life; in 42:6 the same verb returns when he says, before God, “I despise (myself).”

לֹא־lō-I would notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

אֶֽחְיֶ֑ה’eḥ·yehliveH2421

√ châyâh — to live, whether literally or figurativelyVerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

châyâh: live Barnes turns the line toward Christian hope (“It is better to depart and to be with Christ”). Cambridge: “No emphasis falls on alway… meaning I desire not life.”

לְעֹלָ֣םlə·‘ō·lāmforeverH5769

√ ʻôwlâm — properly, concealed, iPreposition-lNounmasculine singular

ʻôwlâm: forever, age Poole: perhaps “let me not live out mine age.” The word is about duration, not eternity in the later sense.

חֲדַ֥לḥă·ḏalLeave me aloneH2308

√ châdal — properly, to be flabby, iVerbQalImperativemasculine singular

châdal: cease, leave off 56 verses. The same imperative returns at 10:20 and in the hireling passage at 14:6 (Verifier-confirmed).

מִ֝מֶּ֗נִּיmim·men·nî. . .H4480

√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionfirst person common singular

כִּי־kî-forH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

יָמָֽי׃yā·māymy days [are]H3117

√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine plural constructfirst person common singular

הֶ֥בֶלhe·ḇel[but] a breathH1892

√ hebel — emptiness or vanityNounmasculine singular

hebel: breath, vapor Abel’s name (Gen 4:2). Ps 144:4, the Psalm 8 echo that Pulpit cites, continues: “Man is like a hebel.” Verse 16 ends with the word that makes the turn to v. 17 (“What is man?”) natural.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

I-loathe (it); not forever would-I-live. Cease from-me, for my-days are breath.

Where the English smooths the original

מָאַסְתִּי מָ֭אַסְתִּי (mā·’as·tî, H3988): BSB “I loathe [my life].” The verb has no object in the Hebrew; the bracket in the BSB gloss admits it. Cambridge: “The object of his loathing is not expressed.” Pulpit and Gill (after Schultens) consider “I waste away.” Same root as v. 5.
חֲדַל חֲדַל (ḥă·ḏal, Qal imperative, H2308): “Leave me alone.” Literally “Cease from me!” Cambridge: “hardly a prayer, but something like an imperious command.” It is an imperative addressed to God.
הֶבֶל הֶבֶל (he·ḇel, H1892): “a breath.” The word of Ecclesiastes (“vanity of vanities”). K&D: “hebel, like rûaḥ, Job 7:7.” KJV “vanity” and BSB “breath” each catch one side: vapor and futility.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

There it is said that God exalts puny man to a kingly and divine position among His creatures, and distinguishes him continually with new tokens of His favour; here, that instead of ignoring him, He makes too much of him, by selecting him, perishable as he is, as the object of ever new and ceaseless sufferings.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Here is another point of contact with Psalm 8:5 ; but the spirit of the Psalmist was one of devout adoration, whereas that of Job is one of agony and desperation.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

Job ought rather to have reasoned from God's condescending so far to notice man as to try him, that there must be a wise and loving purpose in trial.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

This strong expression is not used of God elsewhere. But it well expresses the extreme tenderness and consideration that God has for man, and the deep love from which that tenderness and consideration spring.

Pulpit reads the phrase as tender, against Job’s bitter use of it. That is a canonical correction of Job, not Job’s own sense.

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What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

māh- ’ĕ·nō·wōš kî ṯə·ḡad·də·len·nū wə·ḵî- ṯā·šîṯ lib·be·ḵā ’ê·lāw

Word by word8 · parsed

מָֽה־māh-WhatH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative

mâh: what? Ps 8:4 and 144:3 open with the same interrogative. The Verifier confirms the shared frame.

אֱ֭נוֹשׁ’ĕ·nō·wōšis manH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Nounmasculine singular

ʼĕnôwsh: frail man Bracketing v. 1. The creature that is nothing receives God’s attention, and Job finds that attention unbearable.

כִּ֣יkîthatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

תְגַדְּלֶ֑נּוּṯə·ḡad·də·len·nūYou should exalt himH1431

√ gâdal — to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)VerbPielImperfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

gâdal: make great (Piel) In Ps 8:5 to 6 God crowns man with glory. K&D: “here, that instead of ignoring him, He makes too much of him… the object of ever new and ceaseless sufferings.”

וְכִי־wə·ḵî-thatH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

תָשִׁ֖יתṯā·šîṯYou should setH7896

√ shîyth — to place (in a very wide application)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

shîyth: set, place A near-synonym of śûm in v. 12 and v. 20; the language of deliberate placement.

לִבֶּֽךָ׃lib·be·ḵāYour heartH3820

√ lêb — the heartNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

lêb: heart, mind The seat of attention and purpose. ⚙ Read with Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2, the heart God “set” on man is the root of the incarnation; Job feels only the pressure of it.

אֵלָ֣יו’ê·lāwupon himH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionthird person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

What is-mortal-man, that you-make-him-great, and-that you-set your-heart upon-him,

Where the English smooths the original

אֱנוֹשׁ אֱ֭נוֹשׁ (’ĕ·nō·wōš, H582): “man,” again the frail-mortal word of v. 1. The question deliberately recalls Ps 8:4 (Heb. 8:5), which also uses ʼĕnôš. Benson: “Enosh, lapsed, fallen man.”
תְגַדְּלֶנּוּ תְגַדְּלֶ֑נּוּ (ṯə·ḡad·də·len·nū, Piel of gāḏal, H1431): “exalt him.” Cambridge: “to think great, to consider of importance.” Gill reports an Arabic-based rendering “that thou shouldest wrestle with him.” The English “exalt” sounds like praise; in Job’s mouth it is closer to “make so much of.”
תָשִׁית לִבֶּךָ תָשִׁ֖ית לִבֶּֽךָ (ṯā·šîṯ lib·be·ḵā, H7896 + H3820): “set Your heart upon him.” The idiom means to pay close attention (Cambridge: “thy mind”). Pulpit: “This strong expression is not used of God elsewhere.”

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The admiring gratefulness of the Psalmist that God condescended to visit man and gave him such a place in His estimation is parodied by Job, and the Psalmist’s words are made with bitter irony to express his wonder that God should occupy Himself continually with so slight a thing as man, and make him the object of His unceasing persecution.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

It is rather God's mercies, not our trials, that are new every morning (La 3:23). The idea is that of a shepherd taking count of his flock every morning, to see if all are there [Cocceius].

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Try him, i.e. afflict him, which is oft called trying, because it doth indeed try a man’s faith, and patience, and perseverance.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Our whole life is a probation, not merely particular parts of it. God "tries us every moment " if not with afflictions, then with blessings; if not with pains, then with pleasures. He is with us all the day long, and all our life long, equally in his mercies and in his chastisements.

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that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wat·tip̄·qə·ḏen·nū liḇ·qā·rîm tiḇ·ḥā·nen·nū lir·ḡā·‘îm

Word by word4 · parsed

וַתִּפְקְדֶ֥נּוּwat·tip̄·qə·ḏen·nūthat You attend to himH6485

√ pâqad — to visit (with friendly or hostile intent)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

pâqad: visit, inspect A verb with two edges: God “visited” Sarah (Gen 21:1) and “visits” iniquity (Exod 20:5). JFB, after Cocceius, offers the image of “a shepherd taking count of his flock every morning.”

לִבְקָרִ֑יםliḇ·qā·rîmevery morningH1242

√ bôqer — properly, dawn (as the break of day)Preposition-lNounmasculine plural

bôqer: morning ⚙ Lamentations, written from deeper ruin, says that what comes new each morning is mercy. Job has not yet seen it that way.

תִּבְחָנֶֽנּוּ׃tiḇ·ḥā·nen·nū[and] test himH974

√ bâchan — to test (especially metals)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine singular

bâchan: test, assay A refining verb, not a destroying one (Ps 66:10; Zech 13:9). ⚙ The verb Job uses in complaint already contains the answer that 23:10 will give.

לִ֝רְגָעִ֗יםlir·ḡā·‘îmevery momentH7281

√ regaʻ — a wink (of the eyes), iPreposition-lNounmasculine plural

regaʻ: moment, wink Strong’s lists it next to rāgaʻ (H7280, v. 5). The moment-by-moment testing matches the constant breaking of his skin.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

and-you-visit-him by-mornings, by-moments you-test-him?

Where the English smooths the original

וַתִּפְקְדֶנּוּ וַתִּפְקְדֶ֥נּוּ (wat·tip̄·qə·ḏen·nū, H6485): BSB “attend to him.” Pāqaḏ is to visit, inspect, muster, or punish (Exod 20:5, “visiting iniquity”). Poole and Barnes take it as punitive; Gill and Benson allow the gracious sense. Ps 8:4 uses the same verb for God’s gracious “visiting” of man.
לִבְקָרִים לִבְקָרִ֑ים (liḇ·qā·rîm, H1242): “every morning,” literally “for the mornings,” plural. The same form is in Lam 3:23: the LORD’s mercies “are new every morning.” JFB and K&D note the contrast.
תִּבְחָנֶנּוּ תִּבְחָנֶֽנּוּ (tiḇ·ḥā·nen·nū, H974): “test him.” Bāḥan is the assayer’s verb for testing metal. Job will later say: “when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (23:10), which Gill cites here.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

To let one swallow his spittle is to give him a moment’s respite or time.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Job does not go so far as to ask that God should "depart from" him. He knows, doubtless, that that would be the extreme of calamity. But he would have God sometimes turn away his eyes from him, and not always regard him so intently.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

how long will it continue that Thou turnest not away Thy look of anger from me?

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

and before harshly condemning him we should put ourselves in his situation, and ask ourselves how we would be likely to think and feel and speak if we were in the same circumstances.

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Will You never look away from me, or leave me alone to swallow my spittle?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kam·māh lō- ṯiš·‘eh mim·men·nî lō- ṯar·pê·nî ‘aḏ- bil·‘î ruq·qî

Word by word9 · parsed

כַּ֭מָּהkam·māhWill You neverH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Preposition-kInterrogative

mâh: how? With kə, “how long.” K&D notes it is construed with a past tense here, as ʻad mātay sometimes is (Ps 80:4).

לֹא־lō-. . .H3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

תִשְׁעֶ֣הṯiš·‘ehlook awayH8159

√ shâʻâh — to gaze at or about (properly, for help)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

shâʻâh: gaze, look away Barnes: “The same word occurs in Job 14:6.” God’s gaze, which v. 8 said would find him gone, is here felt as unbearable while he lives.

מִמֶּ֑נִּיmim·men·nîfrom meH4480

√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionfirst person common singular

לֹֽא־lō-orH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

תַ֝רְפֵּ֗נִיṯar·pê·nîleave me aloneH7503

√ râphâh — to slacken (in many applications, literal or figurative)VerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine singularfirst person common singular

râphâh: slacken (Hiphil) Ps 46:10 uses the same verb: “Be still” (literally “let go”). ⚙ The thing Job begs God to do, God will ask of Job.

עַד־‘aḏ-toH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

בִּלְעִ֥יbil·‘îswallowH1104

√ bâlaʻ — to make away with (specifically by swallowing)VerbQalInfinitive constructfirst person common singular

רֻקִּֽי׃ruq·qîmy spittleH7536

√ rôq — spittleNounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

rôq: spittle Only 3 verses: here, Job 30:10, Isa 50:6. Ellicott, Barnes and Cambridge record the Arab proverb “let me swallow my spittle” for the briefest respite. The rare noun links Job’s plea to the Servant who did not hide His face from spitting.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

How-long will-you-not look-away from-me, not let-me-go until my-swallowing my-spittle?

Where the English smooths the original

כַּמָּה כַּ֭מָּה (kam·māh, H4100): BSB “Will You never.” Literally “How much / how long?” K&D: “quamdiu… how long will it continue that Thou turnest not away Thy look of anger from me?” The lament’s “how long” (Ps 13:1) is muted in the BSB.
תִשְׁעֶה תִשְׁעֶ֣ה (ṯiš·‘eh, H8159): “look away.” Šāʻāh is to gaze, and with min to look away from. Pulpit notes that Job “does not go so far as to ask that God should ‘depart from’ him”: he wants God to look away, not to leave him.
תַרְפֵּנִי תַ֝רְפֵּ֗נִי (ṯar·pê·nî, Hiphil of rāp̄āh, H7503): “leave me alone.” The Hiphil means to let drop, slacken one’s grip. Gill hears the wrestler’s hold: “he so collared him, and gripped him.”

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

With a measure of sinful bitterness, Job calls God האדם נצר, the strict and constant observer of men,

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

elsewhere a word of comfort to the godly ( Deuteronomy 32:10 ; Psalm 31:23 ; Psalm 121:4 ), is here used in an invidious sense to express the constant espionage exercised by God over men, that He may detect their sin and bring them to a reckoning,

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

After all temptations faith steps forth and leads Job to repentance: yet it was not in such perfection that he could bridle himself from reasoning with God, because he still tried his faith.

Geneva reads “I have sinned” as true confession, against K&D and Cambridge who read a concession. The Hebrew perfect with no “if” allows both.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

Job maintained, against his friends, that he was not a hypocrite, not a wicked man, yet he owns to his God, that he had sinned. The best must so acknowledge, before the Lord.

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If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ḥā·ṭā·ṯî māh ’ep̄·‘al lāḵ nō·ṣêr hā·’ā·ḏām lā·māh śam·ta·nî lāḵ lə·mip̄·gā‘ wā·’eh·yeh lə·maś·śā ‘ā·lay

Word by word13 · parsed

חָטָ֡אתִיḥā·ṭā·ṯîIf I have sinnedH2398

√ châṭâʼ — properly, to missVerbQalPerfectfirst person common singular

châṭâʼ: miss, sin The basic verb for sin. Henry: “Job maintained, against his friends, that he was not a hypocrite… yet he owns to his God, that he had sinned.” K&D reads it as a concession made for the sake of argument. Either way, Job does not claim sinlessness, only that his suffering is out of proportion to his sin.

מָ֤הmāhwhatH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative

אֶפְעַ֨ל׀’ep̄·‘alhave I doneH6466

√ pâʻal — to do or make (systematically and habitually), especially to practiseVerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

pâʻal: do, practise “What do I do to You?” K&D: “human sin… can detract nothing from the blessedness and glory of God.” Elihu will make the same argument against Job (35:6).

לָךְ֮lāḵto You

Prepositionsecond person feminine singular

נֹצֵ֪רnō·ṣêrO watcherH5341

√ nâtsar — to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular construct

nâtsar: watch, guard, keep The word used of the LORD who “keeps” His vineyard (Isa 27:3, which K&D cites) and preserves the faithful (Ps 31:23). Job inverts it: the Keeper of man has become man’s spy. K&D cites Renan, “O Espion de l’homme.”

הָאָ֫דָ֥םhā·’ā·ḏāmof mankindH120

√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iArticleNounmasculine singular

לָ֤מָהlā·māhWhyH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Interrogative

שַׂמְתַּ֣נִיśam·ta·nîhave You made meH7760

√ sûwm — to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically)VerbQalPerfectsecond person masculine singularfirst person common singular

לָ֑ךְlāḵYour

Prepositionsecond person feminine singular

לְמִפְגָּ֣עlə·mip̄·gā‘targetH4645

√ miphgâʻ — an object of attackPreposition-lNounmasculine singular

miphgâʻ: thing struck, target From pāgaʻ, to meet or strike against. The Servant passage uses the same root: the LORD “caused to meet (hip̄gîaʻ) on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6). ⚙ Job is the place where God’s blows land; the Servant will be the place where iniquity lands.

וָאֶהְיֶ֖הwā·’eh·yehso that I amH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectfirst person common singular

לְמַשָּֽׂא׃lə·maś·śāa burdenH4853

√ massâʼ — a burdenPreposition-lNounmasculine singular

massâʼ: burden From nāśāʼ, “lift.” The same root is in v. 13 (“bear”) and v. 21 (“pardon”). ⚙ Job is a burden that God will not lift away.

עָלַ֣י‘ā·layto YouH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPrepositionfirst person common singular

ʻal: upon The disputed preposition with suffix: see the divergence and the apparatus.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

I-have-sinned: what do-I-do to-you, O-Watcher of-man? Why have-you-set-me as-your-target, and-I-am upon-myself a-burden?

Where the English smooths the original

חָטָאתִי חָטָ֡אתִי (ḥā·ṭā·ṯî, Qal perfect, H2398): BSB “If I have sinned.” The Hebrew has no “if.” K&D: “hypothetical… granted that I have sinned”; Cambridge, Barnes, Pulpit agree. Henry, Gill and Geneva hear a real confession. The BSB’s “If” resolves an open question one way.
נֹצֵר נֹצֵ֪ר (nō·ṣêr, Qal participle, H5341): “O watcher.” The participle of nāṣar, to guard, keep, watch. KJV “preserver” takes the protective sense; BSB “watcher” takes the sense the context needs. Cambridge: “elsewhere a word of comfort to the godly… here used in an invidious sense.”
מִפְגָּע לְמִפְגָּ֣ע (lə·mip̄·gā‘, H4645): “target.” K&D: “not the target for shooting at, which is rather maṭṭārāh… but the object on which one rushes with hostile violence.” Cambridge: “a stumbling-block or obstacle against which one strikes.” A hapax in this form.
עָלַי עָלַ֣י (‘ā·lay, H5921 + 1st sg.): BSB “to You.” The Masoretic text reads “upon me” (“a burden to myself”). BSB follows the LXX and a Jewish tradition that this is a scribal correction (tiqqun sopherim) of “to You” (K&D, Cambridge). Barnes defends the received text.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

Jehovah has taken lifted up sin from his people, and has put and laid it, or caused it to meet on his Son, by the imputation of it to him; and he has voluntarily taken it on himself, and has bore it, and has taken it away by his blood and sacrifice,

Gill reads the full doctrine of imputation into Job’s question. Job does not state it; Gill supplies the canonical answer, which Exod 34:7 and Isa 53 support.

source ↗

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

In Job’s belief, sin was the origin of all disaster, and so he thinks that if he were but pardoned his sorrows would pass away.

source ↗

The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

The idea seems to be - God will relent at last; he will seek to alleviate my sufferings; he will search for me diligently - but I shall have ceased to be.

source ↗

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The consideration of this, that we must shortly die, and perhaps may die suddenly, should make us all very solicitous to get our sins pardoned, and our iniquities taken away.

source ↗

Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·meh lō- ṯiś·śā p̄iš·‘î wə·ṯa·‘ă·ḇîr ’eṯ- ‘ă·wō·nî kî- ‘at·tāh ’eš·kāḇ le·‘ā·p̄ār wə·ši·ḥăr·ta·nî wə·’ê·nen·nî

Word by word13 · parsed

וּמֶ֤ה׀ū·mehWhyH4100

√ mâh — properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?)Conjunctive wawInterrogative

לֹא־lō-do You notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

תִשָּׂ֣אṯiś·śāpardonH5375

√ nâsâʼ — to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relativeVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular

nâsâʼ: lift, bear, forgive The verb of atonement-bearing: in Lev 16:22 the goat carries (nāśāʼ) all their iniquities on itself. Henry: “He means more than the removing of his outward trouble, and is earnest for the return of God’s favour.” ⚙ Job asks God to do what God has already named as His own nature (Exod 34:7).

פִשְׁעִי֮p̄iš·‘îmy transgressionH6588

√ peshaʻ — a revolt (national, moral or religious)Nounmasculine singular constructfirst person common singular

peshaʻ: transgression, revolt Sin as rebellion against a lord. Job uses the strong word of himself.

וְתַעֲבִ֪ירwə·ṯa·‘ă·ḇîrand take awayH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overConjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive imperfectsecond person masculine singular

ʻâbar: pass over (Hiphil) “Cause to pass away”: the image of guilt carried off. In Zech 3:4 God removes (heʻĕḇartî) the priest’s iniquity and then clothes him, which reverses Job 7:5, where Job is “clothed” with maggots.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

עֲוֺ֫נִ֥י‘ă·wō·nîmy iniquityH5771

√ ʻâvôn — perversity, iNouncommon singular constructfirst person common singular

ʻâvôn: iniquity, guilt Both the crooked act and its penalty. Ellicott: “In Job’s belief, sin was the origin of all disaster.”

כִּֽי־kî-ForH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

עַ֭תָּה‘at·tāhsoonH6258

√ ʻattâh — at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletiveAdverb

אֶשְׁכָּ֑ב’eš·kāḇI will lie downH7901

√ shâkab — to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)VerbQalImperfectfirst person common singular

shâkab: lie down The verb of v. 4 returns: the sleepless bed becomes the grave. Gill: “there being in the bed of dust no tossings to and fro as now.”

לֶעָפָ֣רle·‘ā·p̄ārin the dustH6083

√ ʻâphâr — dust (as powdered or gray)Preposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular

ʻâphâr: dust Same noun as v. 5 (“clods of dust”) and Gen 3:19 (“to dust you shall return”). Job 19:25 ends with the Redeemer standing “upon the dust.”

וְשִׁ֖חֲרְתַּ֣נִיwə·ši·ḥăr·ta·nîYou will seek meH7836

√ shâchar — properly, to dawn, iConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singularfirst person common singular

shâchar: seek earnestly (Piel) Pulpit: “God will relent at last; he will seek to alleviate my sufferings… but I shall have ceased to be.” ⚙ Job, at the very edge, still pictures God as one who will come looking for him.

וְאֵינֶֽנִּי׃פwə·’ê·nen·nîbut I will be no moreH369

√ ʼayin — a non-entityConjunctive wawAdverbfirst person common singular

ʼayin: is not Ends the speech with the word of v. 8. The final word of the chapter is non-existence; the book does not let it be the final word about Job.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And-why do-you-not lift my-transgression and-make-pass-away my-iniquity? For now in-the-dust I-shall-lie-down, and-you-will-seek-me-earnestly, and-I-am-not.

Where the English smooths the original

תִשָּׂא תִשָּׂ֣א (ṯiś·śā, H5375): “pardon.” Literally “lift, bear, carry away.” Gill: “Or ‘lift it up’.” It is the verb of the divine name in Exod 34:7 (“forgiving,” literally bearing, “iniquity, transgression, and sin”) and of the Servant who “bore the sin of many” (Isa 53:12).
וְתַעֲבִיר וְתַעֲבִ֪יר (wə·ṯa·‘ă·ḇîr, Hiphil of ʻāḇar, H5674): “take away.” Literally “cause to pass over / away.” Gill: “cause it to pass away.” Nathan uses this form to David: “the LORD has taken away your sin” (2 Sam 12:13); so also Zech 3:4.
וְשִׁחֲרְתַּנִי וְשִׁ֖חֲרְתַּ֣נִי (wə·ši·ḥăr·ta·nî, Piel of šāḥar, H7836): “You will seek me.” KJV adds “in the morning,” from šaḥar, dawn; Cambridge says this “rests upon a mistaken etymology,” and the Piel means “seek earnestly.” BSB rightly omits it.
פִשְׁעִי פִשְׁעִי֮ / עֲוֺנִי (H6588, H5771): “my transgression… my iniquity.” Two of the three great sin-words of Exod 34:7 (pešaʻ, rebellion; ʻāwōn, perversity and its guilt). English keeps the pair but not the echo of the divine name.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The conscript and the day-laborer — 1 to 6

Job opens with a question about the whole race: “Is not צָבָא to ʼĕnôš on earth?” The noun is military. Barnes says man “was enlisted, so to speak, for a certain time”; Cambridge finds in it “the fixed period and the hard toil of the campaign”; K&D insists it is “active military service,” not field labor. Two more figures follow: the ʻebed who “pants” (šāʼap̄) for the evening shade, and the śāḵîr who “waits in hope” (qāwāh) for his wage. Then Job turns from the race to himself. He has been “made to inherit” (Hophal nāḥal) “months of šāwʼ,” which JFB calls an inheritance that is “involuntary and dismal,” and nights of ʻāmāl are “counted out” to him. The night scene (v. 4) is a man “sated” (śāḇaʻ) with tossings; the body scene (v. 5) is a man “clothed” with maggots. The movement ends with the weaver’s shuttle (v. 6): days finished “at the end of tiqwāh.” ⚙ The movement turns on one root. The hireling waits (qāwāh) and is paid at sundown. Job’s days run out with no hope (tiqwāh) at all. His complaint is that he lacks even what a slave has: an end he can see coming and something waiting for him there.

ii. Wind, cloud, and the house that forgets — 7 to 10

“Remember” (zəḵōr): Benson notes that Job “turns his speech to God.” From here on he speaks to God directly. He piles up images of a life that vanishes: wind (rûaḥ), the human eye that will look for him and not find him, God’s own eyes resting on a man who “is not” (ʼênennî), the cloud that is “spent” (kālāh, the verb of v. 6), the descent to Sheol with no coming up, and the house that will not recognize (nāḵar) him. Cambridge lists the sequence (shuttle, wind, cloud, house) as images of brevity heaped up together. The interpreters divide over what Job believes. K&D says flatly that “Job knows nothing of a demanding back, a redemption from Sheôl.” Ellicott, Barnes, Poole and JFB answer that he speaks only of return to this world, and they point ahead to 19:25. ⚙ Both sides are reading honestly. Chapter 7 states no-return as a fact of experience. The book does not leave it there, but this is where Job stands now.

iii. “Also I”: the license of complaint — 11 to 16

“Gam ʼănî,” “I too”: K&D calls it a gam talionis, a retaliatory “also,” and Gill, following Jarchi, paraphrases: “since God will not refrain his hand from me, I will not refrain my mouth.” Three cohortatives follow, “let me speak, let me complain,” spoken from the “narrowness” of his spirit. Henry objects: “From these reasons Job might have drawn a better conclusion than this, I will complain.” Pulpit defends him: “Complaint is not necessarily murmuring; it is sometimes merely expostulation, which God allows.” The complaint begins as a mock-mythic question: “Am I the Sea, or Tannin?” Cambridge hears “bitter irony,” as if Job were a cosmic monster that must be fenced in. K&D hears the watched Nile and its crocodile. Then come the bed that should “comfort” him (nāḥam, the friends’ verb in 2:11) and the dreams with which God “shatters” him. Job ends here: his nep̄eš “chooses strangling,” he “loathes,” and he cries “cease from me, for my days are hebel.” Commentators disagree about v. 15. Ellicott and Umbreit (per JFB) raise suicide, and Pulpit calls that “a very forced explanation.” Geneva: “He speaks as one overcome with sorrow, and not of judgment.”

iv. Psalm 8 turned inside out — 17 to 19

“What is ʼĕnôš, that You make him great?” K&D calls vv. 17 to 18 “in some degree a parody on Psalm 8:5.” Cambridge says the Psalmist’s words are used “with bitter irony,” and Ellicott contrasts the Psalmist’s “devout adoration” with Job’s “agony and desperation.” In the psalm, God’s attention is the creature’s glory. Here it is the creature’s torment. God “visits” (pāqaḏ) him every morning and “assays” (bāḥan, the metal-tester’s verb) him every moment. JFB answers Job from Lamentations: “It is rather God’s mercies, not our trials, that are new every morning.” Pulpit reads “set your heart upon him” as an expression of “extreme tenderness” that Job cannot yet feel. Verse 19 asks for one swallow’s worth of respite. Barnes, Cambridge and Ellicott record the phrase as an Arab proverb for the smallest interval. K&D: “a proverbial expression for the minimum of time.”

v. The Watcher and the unasked pardon — 20 to 21

“Ḥāṭāʼṯî”: K&D, Cambridge, Barnes and Pulpit read it as hypothetical (“granted that I have sinned”). Henry and Geneva hear a real confession, Geneva saying that “faith steps forth and leads Job to repentance.” God is named nōṣēr hāʼāḏām, a title K&D says is “in itself worthy of God” but “used here only somewhat unbecomingly.” K&D cites Renan’s rendering, “O Espion de l’homme.” Cambridge adds that the same title is “elsewhere a word of comfort to the godly.” The last verse asks: “Why do You not lift (nāśāʼ) my transgression and make my iniquity pass over (heʻĕḇîr)?” These are the standard words of forgiveness (Exod 34:7; 2 Sam 12:13; Zech 3:4). The chapter ends on wəʼênennî, “and I am not,” which repeats v. 8. Pulpit: “God will relent at last… but I shall have ceased to be.” ⚙ The chapter ends with a question it does not answer: why the Watcher does not pardon. The book answers it later, in the whirlwind and in Job’s restoration. The rest of the canon answers it more fully still.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ A fallible reading, offered to be tested against Scripture. Job 7 is in the canon as a lament that God received, not as a model of doctrine, and the end of the book gives the warrant for reading it that way. God says Job spoke “what is right” about Him (42:7), while the friends who defended God with neat theology are rebuked. That does not make every line of chapter 7 true. Job wrongly calls God’s attention hostility (v. 20, “target”) and calls a parody of Psalm 8 a description of reality. He is answered and corrected out of the whirlwind (38:2). But he did one thing the friends never did: he spoke to God (vv. 7 to 21) and not only about Him. The text shows a man who has every human comfort stripped away (shade, wages, sleep, skin, home, future) and who still asks the one question that matters: “Why do You not pardon?” Scripture alone answers it. The answer is the God who “lifts iniquity” (Exod 34:7) and who, in the fullness of time, laid that iniquity on One who went down to Sheol and came up (Acts 2:24 to 27). Read on its own terms, Job 7 teaches that honest complaint brought to God is a form of faith, and that the cry for pardon is the right cry even when it is made in bitterness.

Job asks for a moment to swallow his spittle; the canon will show a Servant who did not hide His face from spitting.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

“What is man?”: Psalm 8 inverted structural / thematic: confirmed

Job 7:17 to 18 reuses the question of Psalm 8 (“What is ʼĕnôš that You are mindful of him?”). K&D calls it “in some degree a parody on Psalm 8:5” (Hebrew numbering; English 8:4) and adds Ps 144:3 and Lam 3:23. Cambridge says the psalm “must have been in the Author’s mind.” The Verifier confirms shared ʼĕnôš and the interrogative frame, but these are common words, so the link rests on the shared shape of the question together with the commentators’ testimony, not on a rare lexeme. ⚙ The Psalmist marvels at God’s care; Job feels that care as surveillance. The psalm’s answer is fulfilled in the Son of Man (see the cross-Testament thread).

Psalm 8:4 · Psalm 144:3

basis: Verifier: shared H582 ʼĕnôwsh (in 508 vv), H4100 mâh (in 657 vv), H3588 kîy; common words, so the link is the shared rhetorical question, attested as allusion by K&D, Cambridge, Ellicott and JFB; not a quotation claim

Spittle: Job’s respite and the Servant’s face verbal / quotation: confirmed

Job asks God to let him go “until I swallow my רֹק” (7:19), the proverb for the briefest pause. The noun rōq is very rare (3 verses). It recurs at Job 30:10, where men “do not hesitate to spit in my face,” and at Isa 50:6, where the Servant says, “I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.” The Verifier confirms the shared rare lexeme. ⚙ This is a lexical link only. Isaiah does not quote Job, and the senses differ (a man’s own saliva, then spit as insult). Still, the canon puts the word in three places: the sufferer begging for one swallow of relief, the same sufferer spat upon, and the Servant who offers his face to the spitting of his own will.

Job 30:10 · Isaiah 50:6

basis: Verifier: shared rare lexeme H7536 rôq (in 3 vv) with Isaiah 50:6 and Job 30:10; Job 30:10 also shares H2820 châsak (in 28 vv). Verbal link only, no quotation claimed

Clothed with maggots: the king beneath and the man on the ash-heap verbal / quotation: confirmed

Job’s flesh is “clothed with רִמָּה” (7:5). The word is rare (7 verses). Isaiah’s taunt over the king of Babylon uses it along with “go down” and “Sheol,” two more words from this chapter: “Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol… Maggots are your bed” (Isa 14:11). Within Job, Bildad turns the word against humanity (“man, who is a maggot,” 25:6), and Job uses it of the dead lying alike in the dust (21:26). ⚙ What Isaiah keeps for a tyrant after death, Job suffers alive. The irony underlines his innocence, which the prologue has already established (1:1, 8).

Isaiah 14:11 · Job 25:6 · Job 21:26

basis: Verifier: shared rare lexeme H7415 rimmâh (in 7 vv); Isaiah 14:11 also shares H3381 yârad and H7585 shᵉʼôwl (in 64 vv); Job 21:26 also shares H7901 shâkab and H6083 ʻâphâr

The loom: Job’s shuttle and Samson’s web verbal / quotation: confirmed

אָרֶג (ʼereg) occurs in only two verses: Job 7:6 and Judg 16:14, where Delilah weaves Samson’s locks “into the web” and pins them with the loom-peg. The Verifier confirms the shared lexeme. ⚙ The link is purely lexical. Neither passage alludes to the other, and the senses differ (shuttle, web). It is listed because the word is so rare that it fixes the image: Job’s life is cloth on a loom, being woven to its end.

Judges 16:14

basis: Verifier: shared hapax-level lexeme H708 ʼereg (in 2 vv); lexical identity only, no allusion or thematic dependence claimed

The hireling who asks God to look away verbal / quotation: confirmed

Job returns to the image of 7:1 to 2 and 7:16 to 19 at 14:6: “Look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.” The Verifier confirms shared שָׂכִיר (śāḵîr) and חֲדַל (ḥăḏal, “leave me alone,” 7:16). Barnes notes that the verb of 7:19 (“look away”) “occurs in Job 14:6.” ⚙ Within the book this is a deliberate reprise: the same plea for a hireling’s evening, now calmer, leading in 14:14 to “All the days of my hard service (ṣāḇāʼ) I will wait.”

Job 14:6 · Job 14:14

basis: Verifier: shared H7916 sâkîyr (in 17 vv) and H2308 châdal (in 56 vv) with Job 14:6; a moderately rare intra-book verbal reprise. Job 14:14 link (H6635) is recorded by Benson, Barnes and Cambridge, not by the Verifier

“His place will know him no more”: Psalm 103 structural / thematic: confirmed

Ellicott: “This language is imitated in Psalm 103:16.” The Verifier confirms shared nāḵar (47 verses) and māqôm. ⚙ The psalm takes Job’s line and gives it a different ending: man’s place forgets him, but the LORD’s loving devotion stands from everlasting to everlasting toward those who fear Him (103:17). The direction of borrowing (Job to psalm, or both drawing on a common saying) cannot be proved from this evidence.

Psalm 103:16

basis: Verifier: shared H5234 nâkar (in 47 vv), H4725 mâqôwm (in 379 vv), H5750 ʻôwd; Ellicott records the imitation; direction of dependence uncertain

From Job’s “What is man?” to the Son of Man (cross-Testament) typological

Hebrews 2:6 to 9 quotes Psalm 8 and applies it to Jesus, “made a little lower than the angels… crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death.” Job 7:17 to 18 had parodied the same psalm from inside suffering. ⚙ Read through Hebrews, the question Job asks in bitterness (“What is man, that You fix Your attention on him?”) is answered in the one Man on whom God set His attention to the point of the cross. This cannot be a verbal link: Job is Hebrew and Hebrews is Greek, and the bridge runs through Psalm 8, not through Job. It is a canonical, typological reading.

Hebrews 2:6-9 · Psalm 8:4

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew to Greek): no shared Strong’s possible; mediated by Psalm 8, which Job 7:17 alludes to (K&D, Cambridge) and Hebrews 2:6 quotes. Psalm 8 to Christ is apostolic; Job 7 to Christ via Psalm 8 is a later canonical reading

“A burden to You”: the scribes’ correction flagged: verify source

In 7:20 the Masoretic text reads עָלַי, “a burden to myself.” K&D reports a Jewish tradition that this is a tiqqun sopherim, a scribal correction of an original “to You,” “removed as bordering on blasphemy,” and that the LXX (“a burden to thee”) supports it. K&D cross-references his own commentary on Habakkuk for the list of such corrections (Hab 1:12 is usually counted among them). Barnes disagrees: “the Received Text is sustained by all the versions except the Septuagint.” BSB follows the “to You” reading. ⚙ The tradition is real, but its historical reliability is disputed, so the link is flagged.

Habakkuk 1:12

basis: Textual tradition (tiqqun sopherim) reported by K&D and Cambridge, contested by Barnes; no Verifier lexical basis; Habakkuk 1:12 connection rests on the traditional list of scribal corrections, not on shared vocabulary

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Son of Man answers “What is man?” ancient/widely-held

Job feels God’s attention as torment (7:17 to 18). Psalm 8 marvels at it, and Hebrews 2:6 to 9 shows where it leads: God set His heart on mankind so fully that the Son took flesh, “tasted death for everyone,” and was crowned. JFB: “Christians who know God manifest in the man Christ Jesus may use them still more.” Gill reads the “magnifying” of man as fulfilled “through the incarnation of Christ, by means of which the human nature is greatly advanced and honoured.” ⚙ Job’s parody is not cancelled but answered. The divine gaze he wanted lifted turns out to be the gaze of a Redeemer.

Hebrews 2:6-9 · Psalm 8:4

“Why do You not lift my transgression?”: the Lamb who takes away ancient/widely-held

Job asks for the two classic acts of pardon: nāśāʼ, “lift, bear” (Exod 34:7), and heʻĕḇîr, “make pass over” (2 Sam 12:13; Zech 3:4). Gill reads the verse straight into the atonement: sin “laid… on his Son, by the imputation of it to him… taken it away by his blood and sacrifice.” Henry: “How wretched is sinful man without a knowledge of the Saviour!” The New Testament gives the answer: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and the Servant who “bore the sin of many” (Isa 53:12, nāśāʼ). ⚙ Job does not foresee this; the canon supplies it. The reading is the Reformed and evangelical commonplace (Gill, Henry); the verbal bridge nāśāʼ to Isa 53:12 is Hebrew to Hebrew and sound.

John 1:29 · Isaiah 53:12 · Exodus 34:7

The spittle and the Servant’s face novel

⚙ Job begs for time to swallow his spittle (7:19). The rare noun rōq appears next in Job 30:10 (“they spit in my face”) and Isa 50:6 (“I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle”), which the Gospels see fulfilled when “they spat in His face” (Matt 26:67). The innocent sufferer who asked not to be watched and pressed points ahead to the innocent Servant who gave Himself up to that same pressure. This is a novel, lexically anchored figural reading, not one found in the commentators of this brief.

Isaiah 50:6 · Matthew 26:67

The one who went down to Sheol and came up novel

“He who goes down to Sheol does not come up” (7:9). Barnes, Poole and JFB insist Job means return to this life; Gill lists the Old and New Testament exceptions and adds: “none but Christ, who is God over all, ever did this.” Peter preaches that God raised Jesus because “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him,” quoting Ps 16:10 (Acts 2:24 to 27). ⚙ Job 7:9 states the rule; Easter is the exception that breaks it, and Job’s own later hope (19:25 to 27) leans toward it. The application of 7:9 specifically is a canonical reading, attested in Gill.

Acts 2:24-27 · Psalm 16:10 · Job 19:25-27

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. (1) 7:20 ʻālāy “to myself” versus “to You”: BSB follows the LXX and a reported tiqqun sopherim (K&D, Cambridge); Barnes defends the Masoretic reading. The interlinear tags ʻālāy (1st sg.), so the literal here reads “upon me.” (2) 7:4 middaḏ: Piel of māḏaḏ (“stretches out”) or a noun from nāḏaḏ (“flight”); K&D prefers the latter on metrical grounds. (3) 7:8 rōʼî: participle (“my seer”) or noun rŏʼî (“vision”); K&D records both readings, and the Strong’s tag follows the noun. (4) 7:5 yimmāʼēs: from māʼas (“be loathsome”) or equal to mās (“melt, run”), K&D and Gesenius. (5) 7:21 šiḥartanî: the KJV “in the morning” rests, per Cambridge, “upon a mistaken etymology”; the Piel means “seek earnestly.”

Sources. The repeated identification of Job’s disease as elephantiasis (Ellicott, Pulpit, K&D, JFB) is nineteenth century medical conjecture; the text gives symptoms only. Psalm 8 is cited as 8:4 (English) / 8:5 (Hebrew); K&D uses Hebrew numbering. The Isaiah 40:2 echo of ṣāḇāʼ (“warfare”) is commentator-attested (Barnes, Gill, Cambridge, JFB); the Verifier finds only the common lexeme H6635 (461 vv), so it is not given a thread badge. The suggested pun on tiqwāh as “cord” in the weaving image of 7:6 is ⚙ only.

Uncertain. Whether 7:15 contemplates suicide (Ellicott, Umbreit via JFB) or only death by disease (Cambridge, Pulpit, Gill) is disputed. Whether 7:20 ḥāṭāʼṯî is confession (Henry, Geneva, Gill) or concession (K&D, Cambridge, Barnes, Pulpit) is disputed; this edition presents both.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)