Job 6  Easy-to-Read Version

² “I wish my suffering could be weighed
    and all my trouble be put on the scales.
³ They would be heavier than all the sand of the sea!
    That is why my words are so crazy.
⁴ God All-Powerful has shot me with his arrows.
    My spirit feels their poison!
    God’s terrible weapons are lined up against me.
⁵ Even a wild donkey does not complain when it has grass to eat.
    And a cow is quiet when it has food.
⁶ Food without salt does not taste good,
    and the white of an egg has no taste.
⁷ I refuse to touch that kind of food;
    it makes me sick!

⁸ “I wish I could have what I ask for.
    I wish God would give me what I want.
⁹ I wish he would crush me—
    just go ahead and kill me!
¹⁰ Then I would be comforted by this one thing:
    Even through all this pain,
    I never refused to obey the commands of the Holy One.

¹¹ “With my strength gone, I have no hope to go on living.
    With nothing to look forward to, why should I be patient?
¹² I am not strong like a rock.
    My body is not made from bronze.
¹³ I don’t have the power to help myself,
    because all hope of success has been taken away from me.

¹⁴ “Friends should be loyal to you in times of trouble,
    even if you turn away from God All-Powerful.^[a]
15 But I cannot depend on you, my brothers.
    You are like a stream that has no water when the weather is dry
    but is flooded when the rains come.
¹⁶ In the winter, it is choked with ice and melting snow.
¹⁷ But when the weather is hot and dry,
    the water stops flowing,
    and the stream disappears.
¹⁸ It twists and turns along the way
    and then disappears into the desert.
¹⁹ Traders from Tema search for it.
    Travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
²⁰ They are sure they can find water,
    but they will be disappointed.
²¹ Now, you are like those streams.
    You see my troubles and are afraid.
²² But have I ever asked you to help me?
    Did I ask you to offer a bribe for me from your wealth?
²³ No, and I never said, ‘Save me from my enemies!’
    or ‘Save me from those who are cruel!’

²⁴ “So now, teach me, and I will be quiet.
    Show me what I have done wrong.
²⁵ Honest words are powerful,
    but your arguments prove nothing.
²⁶ Do you plan to criticize me?
    Will you speak more tiring words?
²⁷ Are you the kind of people
    who would gamble for orphans
    and sell out your own friends?
²⁸ Now, look me in the face,
    and see that I am telling the truth!
²⁹ You need to start over and stop being so unfair!
    Think again, because I am innocent.
³⁰ I am not lying.
    I know right from wrong.