Job 6:1-30
6 Job then said in reply:
2 “If only my anguish+ could be fully weighedAnd put on scales together with my calamity!
3 For now it is heavier than the sands of the seas.
That is why my words have been wild talk.*+
4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me,And my spirit is drinking their venom;+The terrors from God are lined up against me.
5 Will a wild donkey+ cry out when it has grass,Or will a bull bellow when it has fodder?
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,Or is there flavor in the juice of a mallow?
7 I have* refused to touch such things.
They are like contamination in my food.
8 O that my request would be realizedAnd that God would grant my desire!
9 That God would be willing to crush me,And that he would reach out his hand and do away with me!+
10 For even that would bring me comfort;I would leap for joy despite the unrelenting pain,For I have not denied the sayings of the Holy One.+
11 Do I have the strength to keep waiting?+
And what end awaits me, that I should continue to live?*
12 Is my strength like that of rock?
Or is my flesh made of copper?
13 Is there any way that I can help myselfWhen all my means of support has been driven from me?
14 Anyone who withholds loyal love from his fellow man+Will forsake the fear of the Almighty.+
15 My own brothers have been as treacherous+ as a winter stream,Like the water of winter streams that dry up.
16 They are darkened by ice,And in them the melting snow is hidden.
17 But in due season they become waterless and come to an end;When it becomes hot, they dry up.
18 Their course is diverted;They flow into the desert and vanish.
19 The caravans of Teʹma+ look for them;The travelers from Sheʹba*+ wait for them.
20 They are ashamed because of their misplaced trust;They come there only to be disappointed.
21 For this is how you have become to me;+You have seen the terror of my calamity, and you are afraid.+
22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or requested that you make a gift for me from your wealth?
23 Have I asked to be rescued from the hand of an enemyOr to be saved* from oppressors?
24 Instruct me, and I will be silent;+Help me to understand my mistake.
25 Honest words are not painful!+
But what benefit can be found in your reproof?+
26 Are you scheming to reprove my words,A desperate man’s sayings,+ which the wind blows away?
27 You would also cast lots over an orphan+And sell* your own friend!+
28 So now turn and look at me,For I would not lie to your very faces.
29 Reconsider, please—do not misjudge me—Yes, reconsider, for my righteousness is yet intact.
30 Is my tongue speaking unjustly?
Does my palate not discern that something is wrong?
Footnotes
^ Or “rash, reckless speech.”
^ Or “My soul has.”
^ Or “that I should prolong my life (soul).”
^ Or “The traveling company of the Sabeans.”
^ Lit., “redeemed.”
^ Or “barter over.”