Job 6

Job

1 Then Job replied:

2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!

3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.

4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God's terrors are marshaled against me.

5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?

6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the white of an egg?

7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,

9 that God would be willing to crush me,
to let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 Then I would still have this consolation—
my joy in unrelenting pain—
that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?

12 Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?

13 Do I have any power to help myself,
now that success has been driven from me?

14 “A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends,
even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,

17 but that cease to flow in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.

18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go up into the wasteland and perish.

19 The caravans of Tema look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.

20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.

21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.

22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom for me from your wealth,

23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.

25 How painful are honest words!
But what do your arguments prove?

26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless
and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?

29 Relent, do not be unjust;
reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.

30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

JOB 6

Job's Reply to Eliphaz

It's Impossible

1 Job said:

2 It's impossible to weigh
my misery and grief!

3 They outweigh the sand
along the beach,
and that's why I have spoken
without thinking first.

4 The fearsome arrows
of God All-Powerful
have filled my soul
with their poison.

5 Do oxen and wild donkeys
cry out in distress
unless they are hungry?

6 What is food without salt?
What is more tasteless
than the white of an egg?t

7 That's how my food tastes,
and my appetite is gone.
*

8 How I wish that God
would answer my prayer

9 and do away with me.

10 Then I would be comforted,
knowing that in all of my pain
I have never disobeyed God.

11 Why should I patiently hope
when my strength is gone?

12 I am not strong as stone
or bronze,

13 and I have finally reached
the end of my rope.

My Friends, //I Am Desperate

14 My friends, I am desperate,
and you should help me,
even if I no longer respect
God All-Powerful.t
*

15 But you are treacherous

16 like streams that swell
with melting snow,

17 then suddenly disappear
in the summer heat.

18 I am like a caravan,
lost in the desert
while searching for water.

19 Caravans from Tema and Shebat

20 thought they would find water.
But they were disappointed,

21 just as I am with you.t
Only one look at my suffering,
and you run away scared.

What Have I Done Wrong?

22 Have I ever asked any of you
to give me a gift

23 or to purchase my freedom
from brutal enemies?

24 What have I done wrong?
Show me,
and I will keep quiet.

25 The truth is always painful,
but your arguments
prove nothing.

26 Here I am desperate,
and you consider my words
as worthless as wind.

27 Why, you would sell an orphan
or your own neighbor!

28 Look me straight in the eye;
I won't lie to you.

29 Stop accusing me falsely;
my reputation is at stake.

30 I know right from wrong,
and I am not telling lies.