Job 7:12
New International Version
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard?

New Living Translation
Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?

English Standard Version
Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you set a guard over me?

Berean Standard Bible
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?

King James Bible
Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

New King James Version
Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, That You set a guard over me?

New American Standard Bible
“Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

NASB 1995
“Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

NASB 1977
“Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That Thou dost set a guard over me?

Legacy Standard Bible
Am I the sea or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

Amplified Bible
“Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

Christian Standard Bible
Am I the sea or a sea monster, that you keep me under guard?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Am I the sea or a sea monster, that You keep me under guard?

American Standard Version
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me?

Contemporary English Version
Am I the sea or a sea monster? Is that why you imprison me?

English Revised Version
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, that thou settest a watch over me?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Am I the sea or a sea monster that you have set a guard over me?

Good News Translation
Why do you keep me under guard? Do you think I am a sea monster?

International Standard Version
Am I the sea, or a sea monster, that you keep watching me?

Majority Standard Bible
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?

NET Bible
Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?

New Heart English Bible
Am I a sea, or a sea monster, that you put a guard over me?

Webster's Bible Translation
Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

World English Bible
Am I a sea, or a sea monster, that you put a guard over me?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Am I a sea [monster], or a dragon, "" That You set a watch over me?

Young's Literal Translation
A sea -monster am I, or a dragon, That thou settest over me a guard?

Smith's Literal Translation
Am I the sea, or a dragon, that thou wilt set a watch over me?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou hast enclosed me in a prison?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Am I an ocean or a whale, that you have encircled me in a prison?

New American Bible
Am I the Sea, or the dragon, that you place a watch over me?

New Revised Standard Version
Am I the Sea, or the Dragon, that you set a guard over me?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Am I a sea, or a sea monster, that thou settest a watch over me?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Am I the sea or a dragon that you post a watch over me?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That Thou settest a watch over me?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Am I a sea, or a serpent, that thou hast set a watch over me?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Continues: Life Seems Futile
11Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard? 13When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,…

Cross References
Psalm 139:9-10
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, / even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.

Jonah 1:17
Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

Psalm 74:13-14
You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea; / You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.

Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.

Ezekiel 29:3
Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’

Psalm 104:25-26
Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small. / There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.

Matthew 8:24-27
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping. / The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” / “You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm. ...

Mark 4:39-41
Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. / “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” / Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Luke 8:24-25
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm. / “Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Isaiah 51:9-10
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon? / Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?

Psalm 89:9-10
You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them. / You crushed Rahab like a carcass; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

Jeremiah 51:34
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.

Revelation 13:1
Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

Psalm 107:23-30
Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters. / They saw the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep. / For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea. ...


Treasury of Scripture

Am I a sea, or a whale, that you set a watch over me?

I a sea.

Job 7:17
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

Job 38:6-11
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; …

Lamentations 3:7
He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

a whale.

Job 41:1-34
Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? …

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Job 7
1. Job excuses his desire of death.
12. He complains of his own restlessness, and reasons with God.














Am I the sea
In this phrase, Job is expressing his frustration and bewilderment at the intense scrutiny and suffering he is experiencing. The "sea" in ancient Near Eastern culture often symbolized chaos and untamable forces. The Hebrew word for sea, "yam," is frequently used in the Old Testament to represent vastness and power beyond human control. Job is rhetorically questioning whether he is like the chaotic sea that needs to be restrained, highlighting his feeling of being unjustly targeted by God.

or the monster of the deep
The "monster of the deep" refers to mythological sea creatures like Leviathan, which are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., Job 41). In ancient Near Eastern mythology, such creatures symbolized chaos and evil that only divine power could subdue. The Hebrew word "tannin" is often translated as "monster" or "dragon." Job's use of this imagery underscores his sense of being treated as a threat or an enemy by God, despite his innocence. It reflects his deep anguish and confusion about why he is being subjected to such intense suffering.

that You must keep me under guard?
Here, Job is questioning why God is watching over him so closely, as if he were a dangerous entity needing constant surveillance. The phrase "keep me under guard" suggests a sense of imprisonment or restriction. In the Hebrew context, the word "shamar" means to guard or watch over, often with a protective connotation. However, Job feels this watchfulness as oppressive rather than protective. This reflects his struggle to understand God's purpose in his suffering and his yearning for relief and understanding.

(12) Am I a sea, or a whale . . .?--This very hard verse it seems most reasonable to explain, if we can, from Scripture itself: e.g., in Jeremiah 5:22 we read, "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?" The writer was probably familiar with Egypt when the Nile, which is still called the sea, was carefully watched and guarded by dykes that its overflow might not destroy the land. So Job exclaims, "Am I like the sea, or one of its monsters--like that Leviathan which Thou hast made to take his pastime therein, that Thou keepest guard over me and makest me thy prisoner continually, shutting me up on every side so fast in prison that I cannot get free?"

Verse 12. - Job now begins his complaint, which is wholly addressed to God. The heads of it are:

(1) that he is confined and restrained, allowed no liberty (ver. 12);

(2) that he is terrified by visions in the night (vers. 13, 14);

(3) that he is not "let alone" (ver. 16); . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Am I
אָ֭נִי (’ā·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

the sea,
הֲ‍ֽיָם־ (hăyām-)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

or
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

the monster of the deep,
תַּנִּ֑ין (tan·nîn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8577: A marine, land monster, sea-serpent, jackal

that
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

You must keep me under
תָשִׂ֖ים (ṯā·śîm)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

guard?
מִשְׁמָֽר׃ (miš·mār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4929: Place of confinement, jail, prison, guard, watch, observance


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OT Poetry: Job 7:12 Am I a sea or a sea (Jb)
Job 7:11
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