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
New Living Translation
Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
6 Then Job spoke again:
2 “If my misery could be weighed
and my troubles be put on the scales,
3 they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.
That is why I spoke impulsively.
4 For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
Their poison infects my spirit.
God’s terrors are lined up against me.
5 Don’t I have a right to complain?
Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
and oxen bellow when they have no food?
6 Don’t people complain about unsalted food?
Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?[a]
7 My appetite disappears when I look at it;
I gag at the thought of eating it!
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant my desire.
9 I wish he would crush me.
I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
10 At least I can take comfort in this:
Despite the pain,
I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 But I don’t have the strength to endure.
I have nothing to live for.
12 Do I have the strength of a stone?
Is my body made of bronze?
13 No, I am utterly helpless,
without any chance of success.
14 “One should be kind to a fainting friend,
but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.[b]
15 My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook
that overflows its banks in the spring
16 when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
17 But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.
The brook vanishes in the heat.
18 The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
19 The caravans from Tema search for this water;
the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
20 They count on it but are disappointed.
When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
21 You, too, have given no help.
You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
22 But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
23 Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,
or to save me from ruthless people?
24 Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
Show me what I have done wrong.
25 Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
26 Do you think your words are convincing
when you disregard my cry of desperation?
27 You would even send an orphan into slavery[c]
or sell a friend.
28 Look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
29 Stop assuming my guilt,
for I have done no wrong.
30 Do you think I am lying?
Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?
7 “Is not all human life a struggle?
Our lives are like that of a hired hand,
2 like a worker who longs for the shade,
like a servant waiting to be paid.
3 I, too, have been assigned months of futility,
long and weary nights of misery.
4 Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’
But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
5 My body is covered with maggots and scabs.
My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.
Job Cries Out to God
6 “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.
They end without hope.
7 O God, remember that my life is but a breath,
and I will never again feel happiness.
8 You see me now, but not for long.
You will look for me, but I will be gone.
9 Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes,
those who die[d] will not come back.
10 They are gone forever from their home—
never to be seen again.
11 “I cannot keep from speaking.
I must express my anguish.
My bitter soul must complain.
12 Am I a sea monster or a dragon
that you must place me under guard?
13 I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
and sleep will ease my misery,’
14 but then you shatter me with dreams
and terrify me with visions.
15 I would rather be strangled—
rather die than suffer like this.
16 I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.
17 “What are people, that you should make so much of us,
that you should think of us so often?
18 For you examine us every morning
and test us every moment.
19 Why won’t you leave me alone,
at least long enough for me to swallow!
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of all humanity?
Why make me your target?
Am I a burden to you?[e]
21 Why not just forgive my sin
and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.
When you look for me, I will be gone.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
