Job 6-7
Legacy Standard Bible
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered and said,
2 “(A)Oh that my vexation were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my destruction!
3 For then it would be (B)heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.
4 For the (C)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
[a]Their (D)poison my spirit drinks;
The (E)horrors of God are arranged against me.
5 Does the (F)wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his fodder?
6 Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the slime of a [b]yolk?
7 My soul (G)refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.
8 “Oh that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!
9 Would that God were (H)willing to crush me,
That He would release His hand and cut me off!
10 But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I (I)have not at all hidden away the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should [c](J)endure?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is it that there is no (K)help within me,
And that the [d](L)success of sound wisdom is driven from me?
14 “For the (M)despairing man lovingkindness should be from his friend;
But he (N)forsakes the [e]fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have (O)betrayed me like a [f]wadi,
Like the torrents of [g]wadis which pass away,
16 Which grow dark because of ice
And upon which the snow hides itself.
17 When (P)they become waterless, they [h]are silent;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 The [i]paths of their course wind along;
They go up into a formless place and perish.
19 The caravans of (Q)Tema looked;
The travelers of (R)Sheba hoped for them.
20 They (S)were ashamed for they had trusted;
They came there and were humiliated.
21 Indeed, you have now become such;
(T)You see a terror and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Give me escape from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless men’?
24 “Instruct me, and (U)I will be silent;
And cause me to understand how I have erred.
25 How painful are upright words!
But what does your reproof prove?
26 Do you think to reprove my words,
Or think of the (V)words of one in despair as wind?
27 You would even (W)cast lots for (X)the orphans
And (Y)bargain over your friend.
28 So now be willing to face me,
And see if I (Z)lie to your face.
29 Now turn from this, let there be no unrighteousness;
Even turn from this, (AA)my righteousness is yet in it.
30 Is there unrighteousness on my tongue?
Cannot (AB)my palate discern [j]destruction?
7 “[k]Is not man (AC)conscripted to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of (AD)a hired man?
2 As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly hopes for his wages,
3 So am I apportioned months of worthlessness,
And (AE)nights of trouble are appointed me.
4 If I (AF)lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the twilight continues,
And I am saturated with tossing until dawn.
5 My (AG)flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt;
My skin scabs over and flows out again.
6 My days are (AH)swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end (AI)without hope.
7 “Remember that my life (AJ)is but wind;
My eye will (AK)not again see good.
8 The (AL)eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but (AM)I will not be.
9 A (AN)cloud vanishes, and it is gone,
So (AO)he who goes down to (AP)Sheol does not come up.
10 He will not return again to his house,
Nor will (AQ)his place recognize him anymore.
11 “Indeed (AR)I will not hold back my mouth;
I will speak in the distress of my spirit;
I will muse on the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea or (AS)the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
13 If I say, ‘(AT)My bed will comfort me;
My couch will [l]ease my bitter musing,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions,
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my [m]pains.
16 I have (AU)rejected everything; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, (AV)for my days are but a breath.
17 (AW)What is man that You magnify him,
And that You set Your heart on him,
18 That (AX)You [n]examine him every morning
And test him every moment?
19 [o](AY)Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor let me alone until I swallow my spit?
20 (AZ)Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O (BA)watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 Why then (BB)do You not forgive my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will (BC)lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me earnestly, (BD)but I will not be.”
Footnotes
- Job 6:4 Lit Whose
- Job 6:6 Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain; possibly the juice of a plant
- Job 6:11 Lit prolong my soul
- Job 6:13 Ancient versions deliverance
- Job 6:14 Or reverence
- Job 6:15 Or brook
- Job 6:15 Or brooks
- Job 6:17 Or cease
- Job 6:18 Or caravans turn from their course
- Job 6:30 Or words
- Job 7:1 Lit Has not man compulsory labor
- Job 7:13 Lit bear
- Job 7:15 Lit bones
- Job 7:18 Or care for, cf. Ps 8:4
- Job 7:19 Lit How long will You not
Job 6-7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation(A) placed with it in the scales.(B)
3 For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.
4 Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[a] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.(C)
5 Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?
6 Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?[b]
7 I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.(D)
8 If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:
9 that He would decide to crush me,
to unleash His power and cut me off!
10 It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied[c] the words of the Holy One.(E)
11 What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
13 Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.
14 A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,[d](F)
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow
16 and become darkened[e] because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.
17 The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
18 Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20 They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are frustrated.(G)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.[f]
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
22 Have I ever said: “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
23 or “Deliver me from the enemy’s power”
or “Redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless”?
24 Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
25 How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?
26 Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?(H)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.(I)
28 But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?(J)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness(K) is still the issue.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?(L)
7 Isn’t mankind consigned to forced labor(M) on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired hand?
2 Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired man he waits for his pay.
3 So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.(N)
4 When I lie down I think:
When will I get up?
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.[g]
My skin forms scabs[h] and then oozes.(O)
6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.(P)
7 Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.(Q)
8 The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.(R)
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol(S) will never rise again.
10 He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember[i] him.(T)
11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea[j](U) or a sea monster,(V)
that You keep me under guard?
13 When I say: My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,
14 then You frighten me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,(W)
15 so that I prefer strangling[k]—
death rather than life in this body.[l](X)
16 I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone,(Y) for my days are a breath.[m]
17 What is man, that You think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?(Z)
18 You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.(AA)
19 Will You ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?[n]
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to You,
Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,(AB)
so that I have become a burden to You?[o]
21 Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?(AC)
For soon I will lie down in the grave.(AD)
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.(AE)
Footnotes
- Job 6:4 Lit Almighty are in
- Job 6:6 Hb obscure
- Job 6:10 Lit hidden
- Job 6:14 Lit To the despairing his friend loyalty
- Job 6:16 Or turbid
- Job 6:21 Alt Hb tradition reads So you have now become nothing
- Job 7:5 Or and dirty scabs
- Job 7:5 Lit skin hardens
- Job 7:10 Lit know
- Job 7:12 Or the sea god
- Job 7:15 Or suffocation
- Job 7:15 Lit than my bones
- Job 7:16 Or are futile
- Job 7:19 Lit swallow my saliva?
- Job 7:20 Ancient Jewish tradition, LXX; MT, Vg read myself
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