נָקְטָה נַפְשִׁי בְּחַיָּי אֶעֶזְבָה עָלַי שִׂיחִי אֲדַבְּרָה בְּמַר נַפְשִׁי׃   10:1

Job 10:1   “My soul is grieved by my life;

                              I must set my complaint free on my behalf;

                     I must speak about the bitterness of my soul.”

Job’s monologue continues from the previous chapter.  But his tone seems to have changed some.  Now he starts to whine and complain.  He even seems to be questioning God.  I can almost hear him crying out, “Why me?”

אֹמַר אֶל־אֱלוֹהַּ אַל־תַּרְשִׁיעֵנִי הוֹדִיעֵנִי עַל מַה־תְּרִיבֵנִי׃   10:2

Job 10:2   “I must say to God, 'You should not condemn me.

                              Declare to me about what You would contend with me!'”

הֲטֹוב לְךָ כִּי־תַעֲשֹׁק כִּי־תִמְאַס יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ וְעַל־עֲצַת רְשָׁעִים הֹופָעְתָּ׃   10:3

Job 10:3   “Is it for Your good that You must oppress?

                              That You must reject the product of Your ‘hands,’

                   and shine forth upon the counsel of the wicked?”

Job appears to be almost ridiculing God, accusing Him of rejecting good people while showing favor to the wicked.

הַעֵינֵי בָשָׂר לָךְ אִם־כִּרְאוֹת אֱנוֹשׁ תִּרְאֶה׃   10:4

Job 10:4   “Are Your 'eyes' of flesh

                              that You would see like the seeing of a human?”

הֲכִימֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יָמֶיךָ אִם־שְׁנוֹתֶיךָ כִּימֵי גָבֶר׃   10:5

Job 10:5   “Are Your days like the days of a human,

                              or Your years like the days of a warrior,

כִּי־תְבַקֵּשׁ לַעֲוֺנִי וּלְחַטָּאתִי תִדְרוֹשׁ׃   10:6

Job 10:6   that You must exact for my iniquity

                              and demand for my sin,

עַל־דַּעְתְּךָ כִּי־לֹא אֶרְשָׁע וְאֵין מִיָּדְךָ מַצִּיל׃   10:7

Job 10:7   despite Your knowing that I could not be wicked

                              -- and there would be no deliverer from Your ‘hand?’”

יָדֶיךָ עִצְּבוּנִי וַיַּעֲשׂוּנִי יַחַד סָבִיב וַתְּבַלְּעֵנִי׃   10:8

Job 10:8   “Your ‘hands’ formed me

                              and fashioned me altogether on every side,

זְכָר־נָא כִּי־כַחֹמֶר עֲשִׂיתָנִי וְאֶל־עָפָר תְּשִׁיבֵנִי׃   10:9

Job 10:9   “Please remember that You fashioned me as of clay,

                              and to dust You will return me.”

הֲלֹא כֶחָלָב תַּתִּיכֵנִי וְכַגְּבִנָּה תַּקְפִּיאֵנִי׃   10:10

Job 10:10   “Could You not pour me out like milk,

                              and like cheese cause me to curdle?”

עוֹר וּבָשָׂר תַּלְבִּישֵׁנִי וּבַעֲצָמוֹת וְגִידִים תְּסֹכְכֵנִי׃   10:11

Job 10:11   “You would clothe me with skin and flesh,

                              and with bones and sinews knit me together.”

חַיִּים וָחֶסֶד עָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי וּפְקֻדָּתְךָ שָׁמְרָה רוּחִי׃   10:12

Job 10:12   “You produced life and goodness with me,

                              and Your custody has guarded my spirit.”

וְאֵלֶּה צָפַנְתָּ בִלְבָבֶךָ יָדַעְתִּי כִּי־זֹאת עִמָּךְ׃   10:13

Job 10:13   “And these things You have treasured in Your 'heart.'

                              I know that this is with You.”

אִם־חָטָאתִי וּשְׁמַרְתָּנִי וּמֵעֲוֺנִי לֹא תְנַקֵּנִי׃   10:14

Job 10:14   “If I sinned, then You should charge me,

                              and from my iniquity You should not clear me.”

אִם־רָשַׁעְתִּי אַלְלַי לִי וְצָדַקְתִּי לֹא־אֶשָּׂא רֹאשִׁי שְׂבַע קָלוֹן וּרְאֵה עָנְיִי׃   10:15

Job 10:15   “If I have been wicked, woe is me.

                              Yet if I have been righteous, I cannot lift up my head,

                     having had enough of disgrace, and seeing my affliction.”

וְיִגְאֶה כַּשַּׁחַל תְּצוּדֵנִי וְתָשֹׁב תִּתְפַּלָּא־בִי׃   10:16

Job 10:16   “But should it rise up, like a lion You might hunt me,

                              and turn back, show Yourself marvelous with me.”

The first phrase refers back to Job’s head -- “but should my head be exalted,” is what he seems to be saying.  Incidentally, the fourth word in the verse has a rare non-inverting vav prefix before a second-person imperfect verb.  Poetic license, I presume.

תְּחַדֵּשׁ עֵדֶיךָ נֶגְדִּי וְתֶרֶב כַּעַשְׂךָ עִמָּדִי חֲלִיפוֹת וְצָבָא עִמִּי׃   10:17

Job 10:17   “You would renew Your points of evidence before me,

                              as to increase Your 'anger' with me, by turns,

                      and assemble against me.”

וְלָמָּה מֵרֶחֶם הֹצֵאתָנִי אֶגְוַע וְעַיִן לֹא־תִרְאֵנִי׃   10:18

Job 10:18   “So why did You bring me forth from the womb?

                              I should perish, that no eye would see me.”

כַּאֲשֶׁר לֹא־הָיִיתִי אֶהְיֶה מִבֶּטֶן לַקֶּבֶר אוּבָל׃   10:19

Job 10:19   “I would be as if I had not existed.

                              I would have been carried from the belly to the grave.”

הֲלֹא־מְעַט יָמַי (יֶחְדָּל) [וַחֲדָל] (יָשִׁית) [וְשִׁית] מִמֶּנִּי וְאַבְלִיגָה מְּעָט׃   10:20

Job 10:20   “Are not my days few?

                              Let Him desist! Let Him set off from me!

                      Then I might smile a little,

The two indicated errors in this verse are not really errors according to me.  I have translated the words in each of the two sets of parentheses as third-person imperfect verbs, and they make sense.  The corrections in the brackets make the words second-person imperatives, which also makes sense, but it creates “errors” where there are none.

בְּטֶרֶם אֵלֵךְ וְלֹא אָשׁוּב אֶל־אֶרֶץ חֹשֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָוֶת׃   10:21

Job 10:21   before I would go -- and not return -- to the land of darkness

                              and the shadow of death,

אֶרֶץ עֵיפָתָה כְּמוֹ אֹפֶל צַלְמָוֶת וְלֹא סְדָרִים וַתֹּפַע כְּמוֹ־אֹפֶל׃   10:22

Job 10:22   a land of darkness as if it were gloom,

                              of the shadow of death with no order,

                      and it shines as if it were gloom.”

I get the impression that Job is really buying into the friends’ thesis that his trouble has to be punishment for his sins.  And he seems to be showing more anger or frustration over it as he and they continue to speak.

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