Job 7 · Verse 2

Job 7:2

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
Job 7:2, King James Version

Job 7:2 in other translations

BSBLike a slave he longs for shade; like a hireling he waits for his wages.
WEBAs a servant who earnestly desires the shadow, as a hireling who looks for his wages,
ASVAs a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow, And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:
YLTAs a servant desireth the shadow, And as a hireling expecteth his wage,
DARBYAs a bondman earnestly desireth the shadow, and a hireling expecteth his wages,
BBEAs a servant desiring the shades of evening, and a workman looking for his payment:
WebsterAs a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as a hireling looketh for the reward of his work;

What does Job 7:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. earnestly desireth--Hebrew, "pants for the [evening] shadow." Easterners measure time by the length of their shadow. If the servant longs for the evening when his wages are paid, why may not Job long for the close of his hard service, when he shall enter on his "reward?" This proves that Job did not, as many maintain, regard the grave as a mere sleep. 3.--Months of comfortless misfortune. I am made to possess--literally, "to be heir to." Irony. "To be heir to," is usually a matter of joy; but here it is the entail of an involuntary and dismal inheritance. Months--for days, to express its long duration. Appointed--literally, "they have numbered to me"; marking well the unavoidable doom assigned to him.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Earnestly desireth the shadow - As a man who labors hard in the heat of the day earnestly desires to get under a shade, or wishes for the long evening shadows, that he may rest from his labor, get his day's wages, retire to his food, and then go to rest. Night is probably what is meant by the shadow; as in Virgil, Aen. iv., ver. 7: Humentemque Aurora polo dimoverat Umbram. "The morning had removed the humid shadow, i.e., night, from the world." Where Servius justly observes: Nihil interest, utrum Umbram an Noctem dicat: Nox enim Umbra terrae est, "It makes no difference whether he says shadow or night; for night is the shadow of the earth."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 7:1-6

Job here excuses what he could not justify, his desire of death. Observe man's present place: he is upon earth. He is yet on earth, not in hell. Is there not a time appointed for his abode here? yes, certainly, and the appointment is made by Him who made us and sent us here. During that, man's life is a warfare, and as day-labourers, who have the work of the day to do in its day, and must make up their account at…

Read the full comment on Job 7:1-6 →

Job 7:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כְּעֶ֥בֶדke.'E.vedlike a slaveH5650
יִשְׁאַף\־yish.'af-[who] he pants forH7602
צֵ֑לTzelshadeH6738
וּ֝כְשָׂכִ֗ירu.khe.sa.Khirand like a hired laborerH7916
יְקַוֶּ֥הye.ka.Veh[who] he longs forH6960
פָעֳלֽוֹ\׃fo.'o.Lowage[s] hisH6467

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 7:2

  • Leviticus 19:13

    Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

  • Deuteronomy 24:15

    At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.

  • James 5:4

    Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

  • Malachi 3:5

    And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Jeremiah 6:4

    Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

  • Psalms 143:6

    I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

  • Psalms 119:131

    I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ernestly desireth. Heb. gapeth after.
Ps 119:131; 143:6
the shadow.
Jer 6:4
as an hireling.
Le 19:13; De 24:15; Mal 3:5; Jas 5:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 7:1

    Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

  • Job 7:2

    As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

  • Job 7:3

    So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

Read all of Job 7

Job 7:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Como el siervo anhela la sombra, y como el jornalero espera el reposo de su trabajo:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Comme l’esclave soupire après l’ombre, et comme le mercenaire attend son salaire,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wie ein Knecht, der sich nach dem Schatten sehnt, und wie ein Tagelöhner, der seines Lohnes harrt,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Sicut servus desiderat umbram, et sicut mercenarius præstolatur finem operis sui,