Job 6-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
6 Then Job answered:
2 “O that my vexation were weighed
and all my calamity laid in the balances!(A)
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.(B)
4 For the arrows of the Almighty[a] are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.(C)
5 Does the wild ass bray over its grass
or the ox low over its fodder?
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?[b]
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are like food that is loathsome to me.[c]
8 “O that I might have my request
and that God would grant my desire,(D)
9 that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!(E)
10 This would be my consolation;
I would even exult[d] in unrelenting pain,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.(F)
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?(G)
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
or is my flesh bronze?
13 In truth I have no help in me,
and any resource is driven from me.(H)
14 “Those who withhold[e] kindness from a friend
forsake the fear of the Almighty.[f]
15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent bed,
like swollen streams that pass away,(I)
16 that run dark with ice,
turbid with melting snow.
17 In time of heat they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.(J)
18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look;
the travelers of Sheba hope.(K)
20 They are disappointed because they were confident;
they come there and are confounded.(L)
21 Such you have now become to me;[g]
you see my calamity and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23 Or, ‘Save me from an opponent’s hand’?
Or, ‘Ransom me from the hand of oppressors’?
24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone wrong.
25 How forceful are honest words!
But your reproof, what does it reprove?(M)
26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
as if the speech of the desperate were wind?(N)
27 You would even cast lots over the orphan
and bargain over your friend.(O)
28 “But now, be pleased to look at me,
for I will not lie to your face.(P)
29 Turn, I pray; let no wrong be done.
Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
30 Is there any wrong on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern calamity?(Q)
Job: My Suffering Is without End
7 “Do not human beings have a hard service on earth,
and are not their days like the days of a laborer?(R)
2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
and like laborers who look for their wages,(S)
3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me.(T)
4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I rise?’
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing until dawn.(U)
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
my skin hardens, then breaks out again.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle
and come to their end without hope.[h](V)
7 “Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will never again see good.(W)
8 The eye that beholds me will see me no more;
while your eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.(X)
9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,
so those who go down to Sheol do not come up;(Y)
10 they return no more to their houses,
nor do their places know them any more.(Z)
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.(AA)
12 Am I the Sea or the Dragon
that you set a guard over me?(AB)
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,(AC)
15 so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than this body.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone, for my days are a breath.(AD)
17 What are humans, that you make so much of them,
that you set your mind on them,(AE)
18 visit them every morning,
test them every moment?
19 Will you not look away from me for a while,
let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target?
Why have I become a burden to you?(AF)
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in the earth;
you will seek me, but I shall not be.”(AG)
Footnotes
Job 6-7
Common English Bible
Job defends his anger
6 Job responded:
2 Oh, that my grief were actually weighed,
all of it were lifted up in scales;
3 for now it’s heavier than the sands of the sea;
therefore, my words are rash.[a]
4 The Almighty’s arrows are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison,
and God’s terrors are arrayed against me.
5 Does a donkey bray over grass
or an ox bellow over its fodder?
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or does egg white[b] have taste?
7 I refuse to touch them;
they resemble food for the sick.
He wishes to die
8 Oh, that what I’ve requested would come
and God grant my hope;
9 that God be willing to crush me,
release his hand and cut me off.
10 I’d still take comfort,
relieved[c] even though in persistent pain;
for I’ve not denied the words of the holy one.
11 What is my strength, that I should hope;
my end, that my life should drag on?
12 Is my strength that of rocks,
my flesh bronze?
13 I don’t have a helper for myself;
success has been taken from me.
He accuses his friends
14 Are friends loyal to the one who despairs,[d]
or do they stop fearing the Almighty?
15 My companions are treacherous like a stream in the desert,
like channels that overrun their streambeds,
16 like those darkened by thawing ice,
in which snow is obscured
17 but that stop flowing in dry times
and vanish from their channels in heat.
18 Caravans turn aside from their paths;
they go up into untamed areas and perish.
19 Caravans from Tema look;
merchants from Sheba hope for it.
20 They are ashamed that they trusted;
they arrive and are dismayed.
21 That’s what you are like;[e]
you see something awful and are afraid.
He appeals to his friends
22 Have I said, “Give me something?
Offer a bribe from your wealth for me?
23 Rescue me from the hand of my enemy?
Ransom me from the grip of the ruthless?”
24 Instruct me and I’ll be quiet;
inform me how I’ve erred.
25 How painful are truthful words,
but what do your condemnations accomplish?
26 Do you intend to correct my words,
to treat the words of a hopeless man as wind?
27 Would you even gamble over an orphan,
barter away your friend?
28 Now look at me—
would I lie to your face?
29 Turn! Don’t be faithless.
Turn now! I am righteous.
30 Is there wrong on my tongue,
or can my mouth not recognize disaster?
The human condition
7 Isn’t slavery everyone’s condition on earth,
our days like those of a hired worker?
2 Like a slave we pant for a shadow,
await our task like a hired worker.
3 So I have inherited months of emptiness;
nights of toil have been measured out for me.
4 If I lie down and think—When will I get up?—
night drags on,[f] and restless thoughts fill me until dawn.
5 My flesh is covered with worms and crusted earth;
my skin hardens and oozes.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle;
they reach their end without hope.[g]
7 Remember that my life is wind;
my eyes won’t see pleasure again.
8 The eye that sees me now will no longer look on me;
your eyes will be on me, and I won’t exist.
9 A cloud breaks apart and moves on—
like the one who descends to the grave[h] and won’t rise,
10 won’t return home again,
won’t be recognized in town anymore.
Job wants to be left alone
11 But I won’t keep quiet;
I will speak in the adversity of my spirit,
groan in the bitterness of my life.
12 Am I Sea[i] or the Sea Monster[j]
that you place me under guard?
13 If I say, “My couch will comfort me,”
my bed will diminish my murmuring.
14 You scare me with dreams,
frighten me with visions.
15 I would choose strangling
and death instead of my bones.
16 I reject life;[k] I don’t want to live long;
leave me alone, for my days are empty.
A parody of Psalm 8
17 What are human beings, that you exalt them,
that you take note of them,
18 visit them each morning,
test them every moment?
19 Why not look away from me;
let me alone until I swallow my spit?
20 If I sinned, what did I do to you,
guardian of people?
Why have you made me your target
so that I’m a burden to myself?
21 Why not forgive my sin,
overlook my iniquity?
Then I would lie down in the dust;
you would search hard for me,
and I would not exist.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible