An Appeal for Revelation

10:1 I¹ am weary² of my life;
I will give free course³ to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
10:2 I will say to God, “Do not condemn⁴ me;
Tell me⁵ why you are contending⁶ with me.”
10:3 Is it good for you⁷ to oppress,⁸
to⁹ despise the work of your hands
while¹⁰ you smile¹¹
upon the schemes of the wicked?

Motivations of God

10:4 Do you have eyes of flesh,¹²
or do you see¹³ as a human sees?¹⁴
10:5 Are your days like the days of a human,
or your years like the days¹⁵ of a human,
10:6 That¹⁶ you must search out¹⁷ my iniquity,
and inquire about my sin,
10:7 Although you know¹⁸ that I am not guilty,
and that there is none who can deliver¹⁹
out of your hand?

Contradictions in God’s Dealings

10:8 Your hands have shaped²⁰ me and made me;
and²¹ afterward you destroy me utterly.²²
10:9 Remember that you have made me as with²³ the clay;
will²⁴ you return me to dust?
10:10 Did you not pour²⁵ me out like milk,
and curdle²⁶ me like cheese?²⁷
10:11 You clothed²⁸ me with skin and flesh
and knit me together²⁹ with bones and sinews.
10:12 You gave me³⁰ life and favor,³¹
and your intervention³² watched over my spirit.
10:13 But these things³³ you have concealed in your heart,
I know that this³⁴ is with you:³⁵
10:14 If I sinned, then you would watch me;
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
10:15 If I am guilty,³⁶ woe³⁷ to me;
and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head;³⁸
I am full of shame,³⁹
and satiated with my affliction.⁴⁰
10:16 If I lift myself up,⁴¹
you hunt me as a fierce lion,⁴²
and again⁴³ you display your power⁴⁴ against me.
10:17 You bring new witnesses⁴⁵ against me,
and increase your anger against me;
relief troops⁴⁶ come against me.

An Appeal for Relief

10:18 Why then did you bring me out from the womb?
I should have died⁴⁷
and no eye would have seen me.
10:19 I should have been as though I had not been,⁴⁸
I should have been carried
from the womb to the grave!
10:20 Are not my days few?⁴⁹
Cease,⁵⁰ then, and leave⁵¹ me alone,⁵²
that I may find a little comfort,⁵³
10:21 Before I depart and cannot return,⁵⁴
even to the land of darkness
and the shadow of death,⁵⁵
10:22 to the land of darkness,
like the deepest darkness,
and the shadow of death and disorder,⁵⁶
where even the light⁵⁷ is like darkness.⁵⁸