Job 6-7

New Century Version

² “I wish my suffering could be weighed
    and my misery put on scales.
³ My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
    No wonder my words seem careless.
⁴ The arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks in their poison;
    God’s terrors are gathered against me.
⁵ A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat,
    and an ox is quiet when it has feed.
⁶ Tasteless food is not eaten without salt,
    and there is no flavor in the white of an egg.
⁷ I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me sick.

⁸ “How I wish that I might have what I ask for
    and that God would give me what I hope for.
⁹ How I wish God would crush me
    and reach out his hand to destroy me.
¹⁰ Then I would have this comfort
    and be glad even in this unending pain,
    because I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ “I do not have the strength to wait.
    There is nothing to hope for,
    so why should I be patient?
¹² I do not have the strength of stone;
    my flesh is not bronze.
¹³ I have no power to help myself,
    because success has been taken away from me.

¹⁴ “They say, ‘A person’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble,
    even if he stops fearing the Almighty.’
¹⁵ But my brothers cannot be counted on.
    They are like streams that do not always flow,
    streams that sometimes run over.
¹⁶ They are made dark by melting ice
    and rise with melting snow.
¹⁷ But they stop flowing in the dry season;
    they disappear when it is hot.
¹⁸ Travelers turn away from their paths
    and go into the desert and die.
¹⁹ The groups of travelers from Tema look for water,
    and the traders of Sheba look hopefully.
²⁰ They are upset because they had been sure;
    when they arrive, they are disappointed.
²¹ You also have been no help.
    You see something terrible, and you are afraid.
²² I have never said, ‘Give me a gift.
    Use your wealth to pay my debt.
²³ Save me from the enemy’s power.
    Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.’

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be quiet.
    Show me where I have been wrong.
²⁵ Honest words are painful,
    but your arguments prove nothing.
²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say?
    Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?
²⁷ You would even gamble for orphans
    and would trade away your friend.

²⁸ “But now please look at me.
    I would not lie to your face.
²⁹ Change your mind; do not be unfair;
    think again, because my innocence is being questioned.
³⁰ What I am saying is not wicked;
    I can tell the difference between right and wrong.
7 “People have a hard task on earth,
    and their days are like those of a laborer.
² They are like a slave wishing for the evening shadows,
    like a laborer waiting to be paid.
³ But I am given months that are empty,
    and nights of misery have been given to me.
⁴ When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’
    The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
⁵ My body is covered with worms and scabs,
    and my skin is broken and full of sores.

⁶ “My days go by faster than a weaver’s tool,
    and they come to an end without hope.
⁷ Remember, God, that my life is only a breath.
    My eyes will never see happy times again.
⁸ Those who see me now will see me no more;
    you will look for me, but I will be gone.
⁹ As a cloud disappears and is gone,
    people go to the grave and never return.
¹⁰ They will never come back to their houses again,
    and their places will not know them anymore.

¹¹ “So I will not stay quiet;
    I will speak out in the suffering of my spirit.
    I will complain because I am so unhappy.
¹² I am not the sea or the sea monster.
    So why have you set a guard over me?
¹³ Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me
    or that my couch will stop my complaint.
¹⁴ Then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions.
¹⁵ My throat prefers to be choked;
    my bones welcome death.
¹⁶ I hate my life; I don’t want to live forever.
    Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.

¹⁷ “Why do you make people so important
    and give them so much attention?
¹⁸ You examine them every morning
    and test them every moment.
¹⁹ Will you never look away from me
    or leave me alone even long enough to swallow?
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    you watcher of humans?
Why have you made me your target?
    Have I become a heavy load for you?
²¹ Why don’t you pardon my wrongs
    and forgive my sins?
I will soon lie down in the dust of death.
    Then you will search for me, but I will be no more.”