Job 7:16 kjv
I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
Job 7:16 nkjv
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.
Job 7:16 niv
I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.
Job 7:16 esv
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
Job 7:16 nlt
I hate my life and don't want to go on living.
Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.
Job 7 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job's Despair & Longing for Death | ||
| Job 3:20-21 | "...Why is light given to him who is in misery... who long for death, but it comes not?" | Desiring death as escape from suffering. |
| Job 6:9-11 | "Oh, that it would please God to crush me... I would not shrink..." | Willingness to face death for relief. |
| Job 10:1 | "My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint..." | Direct parallel to loathing life. |
| Job 14:13 | "Oh, that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past..." | Longing for a hidden rest in death. |
| Jona 4:3 | "Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." | Prophet Jonah's plea for death from distress. |
| 1 Ki 19:4 | "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers." | Elijah's request for death in despondency. |
| Jer 20:18 | "Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow...?" | Jeremiah's lament over his birth. |
| Plea for Divine Relief/Cessation of Affliction | ||
| Job 9:34 | "Let him take his rod away from me, and let not dread of him terrify me." | Request for God to remove His hand. |
| Job 10:20 | "Are not my days few? Cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little..." | A direct appeal for divine cessation. |
| Ps 6:1-2 | "O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger... be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing." | Plea for God's mercy from affliction. |
| Ps 39:10-13 | "Remove your stroke from me... Look away from me, that I may smile again..." | Desiring God to withdraw His oppressive presence. |
| Ps 88:15 | "...I am afflicted and close to death from my youth up..." | Overwhelmed by divine afflictions. |
| Lam 3:57 | "You drew near on the day I called upon you; you said, 'Do not fear!'" | Remnant of hope for God's relief. |
| Human Frailty & Brevity of Life | ||
| Ps 39:4-6 | "make me know my end... You have made my days a few handbreadths... a mere breath." | Life's extreme brevity and frailty. |
| Ps 62:9 | "Those of low estate are but a breath... lighter than a breath." | Human existence as fleeting and insubstantial. |
| Ps 103:15-16 | "As for man, his days are like grass... the wind passes over it, and it is gone..." | Life compared to withering grass. |
| Ps 144:4 | "Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow." | Another comparison of man to a breath. |
| Ecc 1:2 | "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." | Use of "hevel" (breath/vapor/vanity) for life's meaninglessness apart from God. |
| Isa 2:22 | "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils..." | Highlights human fragility due to breath. |
| Jam 4:14 | "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." | New Testament affirmation of life's transience. |
| God's Overwhelming Power & Human Weakness | ||
| Job 13:21 | "Remove your hand far from me, and let not dread of you make me afraid." | Plea for God to ease His heavy hand. |
| Ex 33:20 | "You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live." | Emphasizes the overwhelming nature of God's presence. |
Job 7 verses
Job 7 16 Meaning
Job 7:16 articulates Job’s profound despair, rejection of his painful existence, and a desperate plea for cessation of divine affliction. He expresses a desire not to continue living indefinitely, precisely because his life has become a relentless torment. His acknowledgment of life’s transient nature serves as a reason for God to "let him alone" and allow his fleeting days to mercifully conclude.
Job 7 16 Context
Job chapter 7 is a part of Job's response to his friend Bildad, after Bildad's initial speech. This chapter specifically contains Job’s personal lament and his direct address to God, where he expresses the depth of his suffering and despair. Job feels constantly watched, afflicted, and tormented by God, viewing God not as a comforter but as an adversary. His body is ravaged by disease, his mind by torment, and he sees no relief. Verse 16 highlights his wish to be freed from this existence, as he views his few, painful days as merely a fleeting breath, urging God to withdraw His severe attention. Historically, in the ancient Near East, a long life was generally considered a divine blessing and a sign of favor, directly opposite to Job’s desire in this verse, making his lament profoundly counter-cultural.
Job 7 16 Word analysis
- I loathe: Hebrew, ma'as (מָאַס). This verb denotes a strong emotional rejection, spurning, or despising. It’s not a mild dislike but an intense detestation of his very existence, highlighting extreme psychological and spiritual agony.
- my life: Hebrew, ḥayyāy (חַיַּי). The plural form often implies a totality or intensity. It suggests he loathes every aspect, every moment, and the entire sum of his being under these conditions.
- I would not live forever: Hebrew, lo'-lᵉʿôlām ʾeḥyeh (לֹא־לְעוֹלָם אֶחְיֶה). This is a radical statement. While humanity is mortal, Job here rejects the desire for indefinite life. He implies that even if endless life were offered, he would not want it in his current state of misery, preferring death and oblivion. This is not a theological statement about eternal life but a cry from intense suffering.
- Let me alone: Hebrew, heref (הֶרֶף). An imperative verb, meaning "desist," "cease," "stop," or "let go." It is a plea to God to halt the relentless torment and scrutiny Job feels. He wants to be left unhindered, presumably so that his natural course of life would lead to death, ending his pain.
- for my days: Hebrew, kî hevel yāmāy (כִּי הֶבֶל יָמַי). The word kî functions as "for," providing the reason for his plea. Yāmāy refers to "my days."
- are but a breath: Hebrew, hevel (הֶבֶל). This powerful word is central to Ecclesiastes, meaning "vapor," "breath," "vanity," or "futility." Here, Job uses it to convey the utter brevity and transient nature of his life. For Job, this brevity is not a tragic reality to be endured, but a merciful fact because it means his suffering will eventually end.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "I loathe my life; I would not live forever": This pairing reveals a deep existential weariness. Job isn't merely tired but finds his very being repulsive due to his suffering. The desire "not to live forever" intensifies this; it signifies a wish for a finite, and quickly ending, suffering, a complete reversal of the normal human desire for longevity. This implicitly challenges ancient world views that saw long life as a blessing, stating it can be a curse under divine affliction.
- "Let me alone, for my days are but a breath": This phrase functions as a desperate plea grounded in reality. Job’s request for God to desist is justified by the extremely short and fleeting nature of his life. If life is so brief anyway, he reasons, why prolong his suffering? The appeal is for divine non-interference that would allow his painful existence to swiftly conclude. The "breath" imagery highlights the futility and quick dissipation of human life.
Job 7 16 Bonus section
The concept of hevel (הֶבֶל) as "breath" or "vapor" in this verse connects Job's personal lament to the broader philosophical discourse on the meaning and transient nature of human existence, famously explored in Ecclesiastes. For Job, hevel serves as an urgent plea: since his life is already as insubstantial and fleeting as a breath, why does God insist on prolonging his agony? This shifts the understanding of life's brevity from a general truth about human mortality to a specific reason for divine mercy and withdrawal of affliction. It reveals a moment of desperation where Job reinterprets conventional wisdom about life and death based on his immediate, overwhelming pain, challenging the common ancient Near Eastern association of a long life with divine favor. This specific wording emphasizes that his despair is not just about a wish for death, but a wish for death as a release from God’s intense, unyielding scrutiny and pain-inducing intervention.
Job 7 16 Commentary
Job 7:16 captures Job’s profound spiritual and physical despondency. His declaration, "I loathe my life; I would not live forever," is a direct repudiation of any perceived blessing of longevity. In a state of intense, inexplicable suffering, existence itself has become a burden he wishes to shed, even if it means foregoing an endless life. This is not a casual complaint but an agonizing expression of a man at his absolute limit, where life under torment is more dreadful than death. His plea, "Let me alone," is a cry for divine cessation from the perceived active affliction. It reflects his conviction that God is scrutinizing and overwhelming him, and he merely wants this tormenting attention to cease, allowing him to pass into the oblivion he views as a relief. The justification, "for my days are but a breath," underscores the brevity and insignificance of human life in the face of an omnipotent God. For Job, life's transient nature is not a reason to maximize pleasure, but a welcome prospect for the end of suffering. It also indirectly argues against a retribution theology by suggesting that life itself, a perceived blessing, can become unbearable due to unjust suffering. For instance, in moments of spiritual exhaustion or immense grief, one might relate to Job’s weariness and the desire for peace, finding solace in the hope that earthly struggles are finite and temporal.