Job 16  Easy-to-Read Version

² “I have heard all these things before.
    You men give me trouble, not comfort.
³ Your long speeches never end!
    Why do you continue arguing?
⁴ I also could say the same things you say,
    if you had my troubles.
I could say wise things against you
    and shake my head at you.
⁵ But I would say things to encourage you
    and give you hope.

⁶ “Nothing I say makes my pain go away.
    But keeping quiet does not help either.
⁷ God, you surely took away my strength.
    You destroyed my whole family.
⁸ You have made me thin and weak,
    and people think that means I am guilty.

⁹ “God attacks me;
    he is angry with me and tears my body apart.
He grinds his teeth against me.
    My enemy looks at me with hate.
¹⁰ People have crowded around me.
    They make fun of me and slap my face.
¹¹ God has given me to evil people.
    He let the wicked hurt me.
¹² I was enjoying a quiet, peaceful life,
    but then God crushed me.
Yes, he took me by the neck
    and broke me into pieces.
He has made me his target.
¹³     With his archers all around me,
he shoots arrows into my kidneys.
    He shows no mercy
    and spills my gall^[a] on the ground.
¹⁴ Again and again he attacks me.
    He runs at me like a soldier in battle.

¹⁵ “I am very sad, so I wear this sackcloth.
    I sit here in dust and ashes, feeling defeated.
¹⁶ My face is red from crying.
    There are dark rings around my eyes.
¹⁷ I was never cruel to anyone,
    and my prayers are pure.

¹⁸ “Earth, don’t hide the wrong things that were done to me.^[b]
    Don’t let my begging for fairness be stopped.
¹⁹ Even now there is someone in heaven who will speak for me.
    There is someone above who will testify for me.
²⁰ My friend speaks for me,
    while my eyes pour out tears to God.
²¹ He speaks to God for me,
    like someone^[c] presenting an argument for a friend.

²² “In only a few years
    I will go to that place of no return.