Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just wishing for evening to come; he's yearning for the specific relief that the end of labor brings, whether it's escaping the scorching sun or receiving his wages. This highlights his desperate longing for death not as an end, but as the cessation of his immense suffering and the fulfillment of his life's work.
Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is in the depths of despair, feeling abandoned by God and tormented by his suffering. He's just finished recounting his miserable days and nights, lamenting that his afflictions seem endless. Now, he compares himself to a slave who desperately longs for the evening shadow and a hired worker who eagerly awaits their wages, both desires born from the intense longing for rest from exhausting labor.
Imagine working under a scorching sun, day after day, with no end in sight. What would that feel like? Job uses a powerful image to describe his deepest yearning.
Job compares himself to a slave who 'pants for the shadow.' This isn't just about wanting to escape the heat. In ancient societies, the slave's day was dictated by relentless labor. The 'shadow' here refers to the evening, the time when the sun began to set, signaling the end of the day's grueling work. It was the moment of release, of rest, and often, the time when wages were paid. Job is desperately craving that sense of relief, the end of his suffering and toil.
Every worker anticipates the payoff for their effort. For Job, this picture of a hired hand is deeply personal, pointing beyond just earthly comfort.
The second image Job uses is that of a 'hired hand who looks for his wages.' A hired worker completes their task with the clear expectation of being paid. Their focus isn't just on finishing the job, but on receiving the promised reward for their labor. For Job, this isn't merely about wanting his suffering to end so he can rest. It hints at a deeper hope – a desire for the 'reward' of his life's work, suggesting a belief in a future recompense, perhaps even beyond this life.
Understand the original words
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ebed · Hebrew Noun
A person owned by another, signifying total loss of personal autonomy, subjection to the will of another, and often implying a condition of harsh struggle.
shav · Hebrew Noun
Used poetically to describe time that lacks substance, purpose, or satisfaction, reflecting the futility of life apart from divine meaning.
amal · Hebrew Noun
Refers to labor, trouble, or painful effort; it signifies the experience of distress, sorrow, or annoyance that accompanies fallen human existence.
This parable highlights the daily, explicit transaction of an employer hiring laborers and agreeing on wages, paralleling the 'hireling's' anticipation of fair compensation for their work and time.
Psalm 104:23The imagery of the evening 'shadow' signifying rest and the end of daily labor finds resonance here, as the creation settles into its nocturnal peace, much like Job longs for his own rest.
Ecclesiastes 5:12This passage speaks of the anxiety and worry that comes with accumulating wealth, contrasting with the simple, immediate desire of the laborer for the end of their work and their wages.
Luke 10:7Jesus' instruction to the disciples to stay with those who offer hospitality and eat what is provided directly connects the laborer's right to their wages with the sustenance needed for their service.
jfbJob 7:2: "As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:"
- 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.
pulpitJob 7:2: "As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:"
Verse 2. - As a servant (or, a slave) panteth for the shadow; i.e. longs for the shades of evening to descend and bring the day to a close. The slavery of Job's time was probably not unlike that of captive races in Egypt, so graphically portrayed in the early chapters of Exodus. The captive, working from morning to night at exhausting labour, would long intensely for the night to arrive…
Job isn't just wishing for evening to come; he's yearning for the specific relief that the end of labor brings, whether it's escaping the scorching sun or receiving his wages. This highlights his desperate longing for death not as an end, but as the cessation of his immense suffering and the fulfillment of his life's work.
Job is in the depths of despair, feeling abandoned by God and tormented by his suffering. He's just finished recounting his miserable days and nights, lamenting that his afflictions seem endless. Now, he compares himself to a slave who desperately longs for the evening shadow and a hired worker who eagerly awaits their wages, both desires born from the intense longing for rest from exhausting labor.
Job is in the depths of despair, feeling abandoned by God and tormented by his suffering. He's just finished recounting his miserable days and nights, lamenting that his afflictions seem endless. Now, he compares himself to a slave who desperately longs for the evening shadow and a hired worker who eagerly awaits their wages, both desires born from the intense longing for rest from exhausting labor.
"Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me." — Job isn't just wishing for evening to come; he's yearning for the specific relief that the end of labor brings, whether it's escaping the scorching sun or receiving his wages. This highlights his d…
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Last reviewed October 2026