² “If my misery could be weighed
    and my troubles be put on the scales,
³ they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.
    That is why I spoke impulsively.
⁴ For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
    Their poison infects my spirit.
    God’s terrors are lined up against me.
⁵ Don’t I have a right to complain?
    Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
    and oxen bellow when they have no food?
⁶ Don’t people complain about unsalted food?
    Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?^[a]
7 My appetite disappears when I look at it;
    I gag at the thought of eating it!

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant my desire.
⁹ I wish he would crush me.
    I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
¹⁰ At least I can take comfort in this:
    Despite the pain,
    I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
¹¹ But I don’t have the strength to endure.
    I have nothing to live for.
¹² Do I have the strength of a stone?
    Is my body made of bronze?
¹³ No, I am utterly helpless,
    without any chance of success.

¹⁴ “One should be kind to a fainting friend,
    but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.^[b]
15 My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook
    that overflows its banks in the spring
¹⁶     when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
¹⁷ But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.
    The brook vanishes in the heat.
¹⁸ The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
    but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
¹⁹ The caravans from Tema search for this water;
    the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
²⁰ They count on it but are disappointed.
    When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
²¹ You, too, have given no help.
    You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
²² But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
    Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
²³ Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,
    or to save me from ruthless people?
²⁴ Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
    Show me what I have done wrong.
²⁵ Honest words can be painful,
    but what do your criticisms amount to?
²⁶ Do you think your words are convincing
    when you disregard my cry of desperation?
²⁷ You would even send an orphan into slavery^[c]
    or sell a friend.
²⁸ Look at me!
    Would I lie to your face?
²⁹ Stop assuming my guilt,
    for I have done no wrong.
³⁰ Do you think I am lying?
    Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

7 “Is not all human life a struggle?
    Our lives are like that of a hired hand,
² like a worker who longs for the shade,
    like a servant waiting to be paid.
³ I, too, have been assigned months of futility,
    long and weary nights of misery.
⁴ Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’
    But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
⁵ My body is covered with maggots and scabs.
    My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

¹¹ “I cannot keep from speaking.
    I must express my anguish.
    My bitter soul must complain.
¹² Am I a sea monster or a dragon
    that you must place me under guard?
¹³ I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    and sleep will ease my misery,’
¹⁴ but then you shatter me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions.
¹⁵ I would rather be strangled—
    rather die than suffer like this.
¹⁶ I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
    Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷ “What are people, that you should make so much of us,
    that you should think of us so often?
¹⁸ For you examine us every morning
    and test us every moment.
¹⁹ Why won’t you leave me alone,
    at least long enough for me to swallow!
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    O watcher of all humanity?
Why make me your target?
    Am I a burden to you?^[e]
21 Why not just forgive my sin
    and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.
    When you look for me, I will be gone.”

² “How long will you go on like this?
    You sound like a blustering wind.
³ Does God twist justice?
    Does the Almighty twist what is right?
⁴ Your children must have sinned against him,
    so their punishment was well deserved.
⁵ But if you pray to God
    and seek the favor of the Almighty,
⁶ and if you are pure and live with integrity,
    he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
⁷ And though you started with little,
    you will end with much.

⁸ “Just ask the previous generation.
    Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
⁹ For we were born but yesterday and know nothing.
    Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
¹⁰ But those who came before us will teach you.
    They will teach you the wisdom of old.

¹¹ “Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?
    Can marsh grass flourish without water?
¹² While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut,
    they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
¹³ The same happens to all who forget God.
    The hopes of the godless evaporate.
¹⁴ Their confidence hangs by a thread.
    They are leaning on a spider’s web.
¹⁵ They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last.
    They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
¹⁶ The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine,
    its branches spreading across the garden.
¹⁷ Its roots grow down through a pile of stones;
    it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
¹⁸ But when it is uprooted,
    it’s as though it never existed!
¹⁹ That’s the end of its life,
    and others spring up from the earth to replace it.

²⁰ “But look, God will not reject a person of integrity,
    nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.
²¹ He will once again fill your mouth with laughter
    and your lips with shouts of joy.
²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
    and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”