'Life' in the Bible

Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Yes, a man will give all he has for his life.

So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”

“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,And life to the bitter in soul,

“Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh];My eye will not see good again.

“I waste away and loathe my life; I will not live forever.Let me alone, for my days are but a breath [futile and without substance].

“[Though] I am blameless,I do not care about myself;I despise my life.

“I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!I will give free expression to my complaint;I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;And Your providence (divine care, supervision) has preserved my spirit.

“And your life would be brighter than the noonday;Darkness [then] would be like the morning.

Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you;And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]That the hand of the Lord has done this,

In whose hand is the life of every living thing,And the breath of all mankind?

“Why should I take my flesh in my teethAnd put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?

“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“As God lives, who has taken away my right and denied me justice,And the Almighty, who has caused bitterness and grief for my soul,

As long as my life is within me,And the breath of God is [still] in my nostrils,

“For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world],When God takes his life?

“And now my soul is poured out within me;The days of affliction have seized me.

“I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life],Approaching His presence as if I were a prince.

“The Spirit of God has made me,And the breath of the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].

He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction],And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

“Then his soul draws near to the pit [of destruction],And his life to those who bring death (the destroyers).

‘God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction],And my life shall see the light.’”

To bring his life back from the pit [of destruction],That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

“He does not prolong the life of the wicked,But gives the afflicted their justice.

“They die in youth,And their life ends among the cult prostitutes.

“He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God;[Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].