Job 6
Good News Translation
6 1-2 If my troubles and griefs were weighed on scales,
3 they would weigh more than the sands of the sea,
so my wild words should not surprise you.
4 Almighty God has shot me with arrows,
and their poison spreads through my body.
God has lined up his terrors against me.
5 A donkey is content when eating grass,
and a cow is quiet when eating hay.
6 But who can eat flat, unsalted food?
What taste is there in the white of an egg?
7 I have no appetite for food like that,
and everything I eat makes me sick.[a]
8 Why won't God give me what I ask?
Why won't he answer my prayer?
9 If only he would go ahead and kill me!
10 If I knew he would, I would leap for joy,
no matter how great my pain.
I know that God is holy;
I have never opposed what he commands.
11 What strength do I have to keep on living?
Why go on living when I have no hope?
12 Am I made of stone? Is my body bronze?
13 I have no strength left to save myself;
there is nowhere I can turn for help.
14 In trouble[b] like this I need loyal friends—
whether I've forsaken God or not.
15 But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams
that go dry when no rain comes.
16 The streams are choked with snow and ice,
17 but in the heat they disappear,
and the stream beds lie bare and dry.
18 Caravans get lost looking for water;
they wander and die in the desert.
19 Caravans from Sheba and Tema search,
20 but their hope dies beside dry streams.
21 You are like[c] those streams to me,[d]
you see my fate and draw back in fear.
22 Have I asked you to give me a gift
or to bribe someone on my behalf
23 or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?
24 All right, teach me; tell me my faults.
I will be quiet and listen to you.
25 Honest words are convincing,
but you are talking nonsense.
26 You think I am talking nothing but wind;
then why do you answer my words of despair?
27 You would even roll dice for orphan slaves
and make yourselves rich off your closest friends!
28 Look me in the face. I won't lie.
29 You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust.
Don't condemn me. I'm in the right.
30 But you think I am lying—
you think I can't tell right from wrong.
Footnotes
- Job 6:7 Probable text sick; Hebrew unclear.
- Job 6:14 Probable text trouble; Hebrew unclear.
- Job 6:21 Probable text like; Hebrew because.
- Job 6:21 Some ancient translations and one; Hebrew manuscript to me; most Hebrew manuscripts have two different expressions: nothing in the text and to him in the margin.
Job 6
International Standard Version
Job’s Suffering is Grave
6 In rebuttal, Job replied:
2 “If only my grief could be weighed;
or my calamity piled together on a balance scale!
3 It would weigh more than the sand on the seashore![a]
Here’s why I’ve talked so rashly:
4 “The arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit absorbs[b] their poison;[c]
God’s terrors have been arranged just for me!
5 “Will the wild donkey bray from hunger[d] if fresh grass is beside him?
Will the ox low from distress[e] if it is near its feed?
6 Tasteless food isn’t eaten without salt, is it?
Is there any taste in an egg white?
7 I cannot bring myself to touch them;[f]
food like this makes me sick.”
Job Desires Death
8 “Who will grant my wish?[g]
I wish God would grant what I’m hoping for:
9 that God would just be willing[h] to crush me;
that he would let loose[i] and eliminate me!
10 At least I could still take comfort
and rejoice in unceasing anguish,
for I didn’t conceal what the Holy One has to say.
11 “Do I have the strength to wait?
And why[j] should I be patient?
12 Am I as strong as a rock?
Am I some kind of iron man?[k]
13 There is no help within me, is there?
My resources have been driven away from me, haven’t they?
Job Accuses His Friends of Treachery
14 The friend shows gracious love for his friend,
even if he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers have acted treacherously like a cascading river,
like torrential rivers that overflow.
16 Filled with waters made cold[l] by ice,
they are where the snow goes to hide.
17 But then the snow melts, and they disappear;
when warmed, they evaporate from their stream beds.[m]
18 Travelers divert[n] in their route;
they go into a wasteland and die.
19 Travelers from Tema search intently;
caravans from Sheba hope to find them.
20 For all their expectations, they are doomed to disappointment;
even though they have come and searched this far.
21 “And now you’re all just like them, aren’t you?[o]
You see my terror and are terrified.
22 When did I ever ask you for anything,
say ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth?’
23 or say ‘Deliver me from my enemy’s control,’[p]
or ‘Redeem me from the domination[q] of ruthless people’?”
Job Requests Mercy from His Friends
24 “Instruct me, and I’ll remain silent.
Help me understand where I’ve gone astray.
25 The truth[r] can be painful,
but what has your argument proven?
26 Did you intend your words to reprove,
even though the speech of a desperate person is just wind?
27 Indeed, you would gamble to buy an orphan;
and barter to buy your friend!
28 Now be willing to face me,
and I won’t lie to your face.
29 Repent! Let there be no injustice;
Change your ways![s] My vindication[t] is at stake.
30 Have I said anything that’s unjust?
I can discern[u] evil, can’t I?”
Footnotes
- Job 6:3 Lit. sea
- Job 6:4 Lit. drinks
- Job 6:4 Lit. heat
- Job 6:5 The Heb. lacks from hunger
- Job 6:5 The Heb. lacks from distress
- Job 6:7 The Heb. lacks them
- Job 6:8 Or Oh, that I might have my request
- Job 6:9 Lit. pleased
- Job 6:9 Lit. loose his hand
- Job 6:11 Lit. And to what end
- Job 6:12 Lit. Is my flesh bronze?
- Job 6:16 Lit. dark
- Job 6:17 Lit. their place
- Job 6:18 Lit. twist
- Job 6:21 Lit. it
- Job 6:23 Lit. hand
- Job 6:23 Lit. hand
- Job 6:25 Lit. Upright words
- Job 6:29 The Heb. lacks your ways
- Job 6:29 Or righteousness
- Job 6:30 Lit. taste
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
