Job 6

CHAPTER 6

Job Answers Eliphaz

¹Then Job answered and said,

²“^aOh that my vexation were actually weighed

And laid in the balances together with my destruction!

³“For then it would be ^aheavier than the sand of the seas;

Therefore my words have been rash.

⁴“For the ^aarrows of the Almighty are within me,

¹Their ^bpoison my spirit drinks;

The ^chorrors of God are arranged against me.

⁵“Does the ^awild donkey bray over his grass,

Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

Or is there any taste in the slime of a ¹yolk?

⁷“My soul ^arefuses to touch them;

They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh that my request might come to pass,

And that God would grant my hope!

⁹“Would that God were ^awilling to crush me,

That He would release His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰“But it is still my comfort,

And I rejoice in unsparing pain,

That I ^ahave not at all hidden away the words of the Holy One.

¹¹“What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should ^1aendure?

¹²“Is my strength the strength of stones,

Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³“Is it that there is no ^ahelp within me,

And that the ^1bsuccess of sound wisdom is driven from me?

¹⁴“For the ^adespairing man lovingkindness should be from his friend;

But he ^bforsakes the ¹fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵“My brothers have ^abetrayed me like a ¹wadi,

Like the torrents of ²wadis which pass away,

¹⁶Which grow dark because of ice

And upon which the snow hides itself.

¹⁷“When ^athey become waterless, they ¹are silent;

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸“The ¹paths of their course wind along;

They go up into a formless place and perish.

¹⁹“The caravans of ^aTema looked;

The travelers of ^bSheba hoped for them.

²⁰“They ^awere ashamed for they had trusted;

They came there and were humiliated.

²¹“Indeed, you have now become such;

^aYou see a terror and are afraid.

²²“Have I said, ‘Give me something,’

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Give me escape from the hand of the adversary,’

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless men’?

²⁴“Instruct me, and ^aI will be silent;

And cause me to understand how I have erred.

²⁵“How painful are upright words!

But what does your reproof prove?

²⁶“Do you think to reprove my words,

Or think of the ^awords of one in despair as wind?

²⁷“You would even ^acast lots for ^bthe orphans

And ^cbargain over your friend.

²⁸“So now be willing to face me,

And see if I ^alie to your face.

²⁹“Now turn from this, let there be no unrighteousness;

Even turn from this, ^amy righteousness is yet in it.

³⁰“Is there unrighteousness on my tongue?

Cannot ^amy palate discern ¹destruction?