Job 7 18

Job 7:18 kjv

And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?

Job 7:18 nkjv

That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment?

Job 7:18 niv

that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?

Job 7:18 esv

visit him every morning and test him every moment?

Job 7:18 nlt

For you examine us every morning
and test us every moment.

Job 7 verses

Job 7 18 Meaning

Job 7:18 is a poignant and despairing question posed by Job to God, following his rhetorical query in Job 7:17, "What is man, that you should magnify him, and that you should set your heart upon him?" In verse 18, Job expresses his profound anguish over what he perceives as God's incessant and oppressive scrutiny. He sees God's continuous attention, manifested in his severe suffering, not as loving care or protection, but as relentless, torturous inspection. Job longs for a moment of respite, wondering why a God of such power would so meticulously and constantly focus on such a fragile, mortal being, especially to inflict what feels like unending pain.

Job 7 18 Context

Job 7:18 is found within Job's bitter lament and passionate plea to God in response to the pronouncements of his friends. Chapters 3 through 14 contain the first cycle of dialogues between Job and his friends, with Job's soliloquy of despair opening this section in chapter 3. In chapter 7, Job paints a vivid picture of his agony: life is a struggle (v. 1), days are swift and without hope (v. 6), he is wasted by disease (v. 5), and he desires death as a relief (v. 15-16). Leading up to verse 18, Job questions God directly (v. 12), asserting that he is no monster or threat, yet God keeps him under strict guard. He asks God in Job 7:17, "What is man, that You magnify him, and that You are mindful of him?"—a phrase reminiscent of Psalm 8:4, but here inverted with a tone of weariness. Instead of marveling at God's benevolent attention, Job perceives it as burdensome surveillance. Verse 18 then builds on this, depicting God's constant, intense gaze not as loving care, but as a perpetual test and inspection that deepens his suffering, driving him to the point of utter desperation where he just wishes to be left alone (v. 19-21). Historically and culturally, Job's complaints challenge the common ancient Near Eastern notion of divine justice, where suffering was almost universally linked directly to specific sin. Job's blameless suffering prompts him to wrestle with God's justice and sovereignty.

Job 7 18 Word analysis

• That thou: Refers directly to God, to whom Job is addressing his anguished rhetorical question. Job understands God to be actively involved in his life, albeit in a way he perceives as torturous.

• visitest him: The Hebrew word is paqad (פָּקַד). While paqad can mean "to visit" in a benevolent sense (e.g., God visiting His people, Exod 4:31; Psa 106:4), its range of meaning is broad: "to attend to," "to inspect," "to muster," "to count," "to appoint," "to hold an accounting," and "to punish" or "chasten." In Job's desperate state, especially when coupled with "tryest him," he perceives this "visiting" as an oppressive and relentless inspection, an accounting of his very existence for the purpose of prolonged affliction. It highlights a painful awareness of God's intimate, constant involvement in his life.

• every morning: The Hebrew labbĕqārîm (לַבְּקָרִים) implies "at the mornings" or "morning by morning." This emphasizes the regularity and unceasing nature of God's perceived attention. It signifies that Job feels a fresh, painful onset of God's scrutiny with the dawn of each new day, preventing any possibility of escape or momentary relief from his torment. It speaks to the cumulative burden of his suffering.

• and tryest him: The Hebrew verb is baḥan (בָּחַן). This word means "to test," "to examine," "to prove," or "to scrutinize," often with the connotation of testing metal for purity, or character for authenticity (e.g., Psa 7:9, 11:4; Zech 13:9). Job perceives God's relentless inspection as an agonizing, punitive examination, implying God is looking for fault or weaknesses, prolonging his ordeal. This is the subjective experience of Job's suffering, a divine "test" he utterly loathes.

• every moment: The Hebrew lirgāʿîm (לִרְגָעִים) translates as "at moments," "instantaneously," or "suddenly." This amplifies the sense of continuous, non-stop attention from God. The combination with "every morning" portrays an absolute lack of respite – not just daily, but continuously, throughout the day. There is no lapse in God's attention, from Job's agonizing perspective.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "That thou visitest him every morning, and tryest him every moment?": This phrase underscores the intensity and relentlessness of God's perceived action from Job's perspective. It highlights his extreme exhaustion and despair. He views God's omniscient attention not as comforting care, but as an unbearable, microscopic examination that prolongs and deepens his anguish without discernible purpose. The dual parallelism of "visitest him every morning" and "tryest him every moment" intensifies the portrayal of a never-ending divine inquest. This is Job's complaint that God's omnipresence has become his suffering's constant companion.

Job 7 18 Bonus section

The profound irony of Job 7:18 is that what Job perceives as an intrusive and torturous act of "visiting" and "trying" is, from God's eternal perspective, an integral part of His profound care and a means of purifying His servant. Later biblical revelation clarifies that God "tries" and "tests" His people not out of malice, but to refine their faith (1 Pet 1:7), to demonstrate their integrity (Deut 8:2), and to build endurance (Jam 1:3). Job's perception is an anthropocentric interpretation of divine action, filtered through his intense suffering, seeing only the painful immediate experience and not the hidden, larger purpose. This verse powerfully illustrates the human struggle to reconcile suffering with God's character and omnipotence when the full picture is obscured. It showcases the dramatic gap between Job's agonizingly limited viewpoint and the unrevealed divine plan that orchestrates his trials for ultimate glory.

Job 7 18 Commentary

Job 7:18 is a profound articulation of spiritual and physical agony, where a suffering individual experiences divine omniscience and omnipresence not as a source of comfort or protection, but as relentless, punitive scrutiny. Job, broken and without understanding of his situation, twists the biblical truth of God's meticulous attention to creation into a torment. He isn't questioning God's existence or power, but His motivation and justice in such a persistent affliction of a weak human. His cry exposes the deep tension between human frailty and divine sovereignty, especially when one's experience radically contradicts conventional understandings of divine providence. This verse is key to understanding Job's bitter wrestle, as he struggles to reconcile his innocence with his unending pain and God's perceived role in it. It sets the stage for God's ultimate answer from the whirlwind, which transcends Job's limited human perspective.

• Example for Practical Usage: When facing prolonged hardship, one might similarly feel God's presence as an overwhelming burden or a source of incessant examination, rather than comfort. This verse helps understand such raw, honest lament, recognizing that such feelings, while mistaken about God's intent, are a natural part of deep suffering. It teaches us to be patient with those who lament, even if their understanding of God's immediate action is skewed by pain.