Job 6-7
New American Standard Bible
Job’s Friends Are No Help
6 Then Job responded,
2 “(A)Oh if only my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my disaster!
3 For then it would be (B)heavier than the sand of the seas;
For that reason my words have been rash.
4 For the (C)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
[a]My spirit drinks their (D)poison;
The (E)terrors of God line up against me.
5 Does the (F)wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his feed?
6 Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the [b]juice of an alkanet plant?
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 Oh, that God would (H)decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10 But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I (I)have not [c]denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should [d](J)endure?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is it that my (K)help is not within me,
And that a (L)good outcome is driven away from me?
14 “For the (M)despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not (N)abandon the [e]fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have acted (O)deceitfully like a [f]wadi,
Like the torrents of [g]wadis which drain away,
16 Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow [h]melts.
17 When (P)they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
18 The [i]paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of (Q)Tema looked,
The travelers of (R)Sheba hoped for them.
20 They (S)were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.
21 Indeed, you have now become such,
(T)You see terrors and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?
24 “Teach me, and (U)I will be silent;
And show me how I have done wrong.
25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the (V)words of one in despair belong to the wind?
27 You would even (W)cast lots for (X)the orphans,
And (Y)barter over your friend.
28 Now please look at me,
And see if I am (Z)lying to your face.
29 Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, (AA)my righteousness is still in it.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does (AB)my palate not discern disasters?
Job’s Life Seems Futile
7 “[j]Is a person not (AC)forced to labor on earth,
And are his days not like the days of (AD)a hired worker?
2 As a slave pants for the shade,
And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So I am allotted worthless months,
And (AE)nights of trouble are apportioned to me.
4 When I (AF)lie down, I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until dawn.
5 My (AG)flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and [k]oozes.
6 My days are (AH)swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And they come to an end (AI)without hope.
7 “Remember that my life (AJ)is a mere breath;
My eye will (AK)not see goodness again.
8 The (AL)eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me;
Your eyes will be on me, but (AM)I will not exist.
9 When a (AN)cloud vanishes, it is gone;
In the same way (AO)one who goes down to [l](AP)Sheol does not come up.
10 He will not return to his house again,
Nor will (AQ)his place know about him anymore.
11 “Therefore (AR)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, or (AS)the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?
13 If I say, ‘(AT)My couch will comfort me,
My bed will [m]ease my complaint,’
14 Then You frighten me with dreams,
And terrify me by visions,
15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my [n]pains.
16 I [o](AU)waste away; I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, (AV)for my days are only a breath.
17 (AW)What is man that You exalt him,
And that You [p]are concerned about him,
18 That (AX)You examine him every morning
And put him to the test every moment?
19 [q](AY)Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,
Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 (AZ)Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
(BA)Watcher of mankind?
Why have You made me Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 Why then (BB)do You not forgive my wrongdoing
And take away my [r]guilt?
For now I will (BC)lie down in the dust;
And You will search for me, (BD)but I will no longer exist.”
Footnotes
- Job 6:4 Lit Whose poison my spirit drinks
- Job 6:6 Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain
- Job 6:10 Lit hidden
- Job 6:11 Lit prolong my soul
- Job 6:14 Or reverence for
- Job 6:15 I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season
- Job 6:15 I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season
- Job 6:16 Lit hides itself
- Job 6:18 Or caravans turn from their course, they go up into the waste and perish
- Job 7:1 Lit Has not man compulsory labor
- Job 7:5 Lit melts
- Job 7:9 I.e., the netherworld
- Job 7:13 Lit bear
- Job 7:15 Lit bones
- Job 7:16 Or loathe
- Job 7:17 Lit set Your heart on
- Job 7:19 Lit How long will You not
- Job 7:21 Or unjust deed
Job 6-7
American Standard Version
6 Then Job answered and said,
2 Oh that my vexation were but weighed,
And all my calamity laid in the balances!
3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas:
Therefore have my words been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up:
The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
6 Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in [a]the white of an egg?
7 [b]My soul refuseth to touch them;
They are as loathsome food to me.
8 Oh that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9 Even that it would please God to crush me;
That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
10 And be it still my consolation,
[c]Yea, let me [d]exult in pain [e]that spareth not,
That I have not [f]denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is mine end, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh of brass?
13 Is it not that I have no help in me,
And that wisdom is driven quite from me?
14 To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend;
[g]Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
As the channel of brooks that pass away;
16 Which are black by reason of the ice,
And wherein the snow hideth itself:
17 What time they [h]wax warm, they vanish;
When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
18 [i]The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside;
They go up into the waste, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema looked,
The companies of Sheba waited for them.
20 They were put to shame because they had hoped;
They came thither, and were confounded.
21 For now ye [j]are nothing;
Ye see a terror, and are afraid.
22 Did I say, Give unto me?
Or, Offer a present for me of your substance?
23 Or, Deliver me from the adversary’s hand?
Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?
24 Teach me, and I will hold my peace;
And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are words of uprightness!
But your reproof, what doth it reprove?
26 Do ye think to reprove words,
Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are [k]as wind?
27 Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless,
And make merchandise of your friend.
28 Now therefore be pleased to look upon me;
[l]For surely I shall not lie to your face.
29 Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice;
Yea, return again, [m]my cause is righteous.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?
7 Is there not a [n]warfare to man upon earth?
And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
2 As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow,
And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:
3 So am I made to possess months of misery,
And wearisome nights are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say,
When shall I arise, and the night be gone?
And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;
My skin [o]closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
7 Oh remember that my life is a breath:
Mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more;
Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,
So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house,
Neither shall his place know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster,
That thou settest a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me,
My couch shall ease my complaint;
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me through visions:
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling,
And death rather than these my bones.
16 [p]I loathe my life; I [q]would not live alway:
Let me alone; for my days are [r]vanity.
17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him,
And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning,
And try him every moment?
19 How long wilt thou not look away from me,
Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, what [s]do I unto thee, O thou [t]watcher of men?
Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee,
So that I am a burden to myself?
21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?
For now shall I lie down in the dust;
And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.
Footnotes
- Job 6:6 Or, the juice of purslain
- Job 6:7 Or, What things my soul refused to touch, these are as my loathsome food
- Job 6:10 Or, Though I shrink back
- Job 6:10 Or, harden myself
- Job 6:10 Or, though he spare not
- Job 6:10 Or, concealed
- Job 6:14 Or, Else might he forsake. Or, But he forsaketh
- Job 6:17 Or, shrink
- Job 6:18 Or, The paths of their way are turned aside
- Job 6:21 Another reading is, are like thereto.
- Job 6:26 Or, for the wind
- Job 6:28 Or, And it will be evident unto you if I lie
- Job 6:29 Hebrew my righteousness is in it.
- Job 7:1 Or, time of service
- Job 7:5 Or, is broken and become loathsome
- Job 7:16 Or, I waste away
- Job 7:16 Or, shall
- Job 7:16 Or, as a breath
- Job 7:20 Or, can I do
- Job 7:20 Or, preserver
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