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And Job answereth and saith: --

O that my provocation were thoroughly weighed, And my calamity in balances They would lift up together!

For now, than the sands of the sea it is heavier, Therefore my words have been rash.

For arrows of the Mighty [are] with me, Whose poison is drinking up my spirit. Terrors of God array themselves [for] me!

Brayeth a wild ass over tender grass? Loweth an ox over his provender?

Eaten is an insipid thing without salt? Is there sense in the drivel of dreams?

My soul is refusing to touch! They [are] as my sickening food.

O that my request may come, That God may grant my hope!

That God would please -- and bruise me, Loose His hand and cut me off!

10 And yet it is my comfort, (And I exult in pain -- He doth not spare,) That I have not hidden The sayings of the Holy One.

11 What [is] my power that I should hope? And what mine end That I should prolong my life?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Is my flesh brazen?

13 Is not my help with me, And substance driven from me?

14 To a despiser of his friends [is] shame, And the fear of the Mighty he forsaketh.

15 My brethren have deceived as a brook, As a stream of brooks they pass away.

16 That are black because of ice, By them doth snow hide itself.

17 By the time they are warm they have been cut off, By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their place.

18 Turn aside do the paths of their way, They ascend into emptiness, and are lost.

19 Passengers of Tema looked expectingly, Travellers of Sheba hoped for them.

20 They were ashamed that one hath trusted, They have come unto it and are confounded.

21 Surely now ye have become the same! Ye see a downfall, and are afraid.

22 Is it because I said, Give to me? And, By your power bribe for me?

23 And, Deliver me from the hand of an adversary? And, From the hand of terrible ones ransom me?

24 Shew me, and I -- I keep silent, And what I have erred, let me understand.

25 How powerful have been upright sayings, And what doth reproof from you reprove?

26 For reproof -- do you reckon words? And for wind -- sayings of the desperate.

27 Anger on the fatherless ye cause to fall, And are strange to your friend.

28 And, now, please, look upon me, Even to your face do I lie?

29 Turn back, I pray you, let it not be perverseness, Yea, turn back again -- my righteousness [is] in it.

30 Is there in my tongue perverseness? Discerneth not my palate desirable things?

Job

Then Job replied:

“If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!(A)
It would surely outweigh the sand(B) of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.(C)
The arrows(D) of the Almighty(E) are in me,(F)
    my spirit drinks(G) in their poison;(H)
    God’s terrors(I) are marshaled against me.(J)
Does a wild donkey(K) bray(L) when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(M)
Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[a]?(N)
I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.(O)

“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,(P)
that God would be willing to crush(Q) me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(R)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(S)
    my joy in unrelenting pain(T)
    that I had not denied the words(U) of the Holy One.(V)

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?(W)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?(X)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(Y)
    now that success has been driven from me?

14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(Z)
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(AA)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(AB)
    as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,(AC)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat(AD) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(AE) look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba(AF) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(AG)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.(AH)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom(AI) for me from your wealth,(AJ)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(AK)

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(AL)
    show me where I have been wrong.(AM)
25 How painful are honest words!(AN)
    But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?(AO)
27 You would even cast lots(AP) for the fatherless(AQ)
    and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?(AR)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(AS)
    reconsider, for my integrity(AT) is at stake.[b](AU)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?(AV)
    Can my mouth not discern(AW) malice?

Footnotes

  1. Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands