Job 6

Job: My Complaint is Just

6Then Job answered and said:

²“Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,

And my calamity laid with it on the scales!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—

Therefore my words have been rash.

^4aFor the arrows of the Almighty are within me;

My spirit drinks in their poison;

^bThe terrors of God are arrayed ^cagainst me.

⁵Does the ^dwild donkey bray when it has grass,

Or does the ox low over its fodder?

⁶Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them;

They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that I might have my request,

That God would grant me the thing that I long for!

⁹That it would please God to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and ^ecut me off!

¹⁰Then I would still have comfort;

Though in anguish I would exult,

He will not spare;

For ^fI have not concealed the words of ^gthe Holy One.

¹¹“What strength do I have, that I should hope?

And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is my help not within me?

And is success driven from me?

¹⁴“To ^hhim who is ¹afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend,

Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ⁱMy brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook,

^jLike the streams of the brooks that pass away,

¹⁶Which are dark because of the ice,

And into which the snow vanishes.

¹⁷When it is warm, they cease to flow;

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their way turn aside,

They go nowhere and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of ^kTema look,

The travelers of ^lSheba hope for them.

²⁰They are ^mdisappointed ²because they were confident;

They come there and are confused.

²¹For now ⁿyou are nothing,

You see terror and ^oare afraid.

²²Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’?

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

²³Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’?

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;

Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

²⁵How forceful are right words!

But what does your arguing prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words,

And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?

²⁷Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,

And you ^pundermine your friend.

²⁸Now therefore, be pleased to look at me;

For I would never lie to your face.

^29qYield now, let there be no injustice!

Yes, concede, my ^rrighteousness ³still stands!

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my ⁴taste discern the unsavory?