Job 6-7

International Children’s Bible

² “I wish my suffering could be weighed.
    And I wish my misery could be put on the scales.
³ My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
    No wonder my words seem careless.
⁴ The arrows of God All-Powerful 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.
    An ox is quiet when it has feed.
⁶ Tasteless food is not eaten without salt.
    There is no flavor in the white part of an egg.
⁷ I refuse to touch it.
    Such food makes me sick.

⁸ “How I wish I might have what I ask for.
    How I wish God would give me what I hope for.
⁹ I wish God would be willing to crush me
    and reach out his hand to destroy me.
¹⁰ Then I would have this comfort.
    I would be glad even in this unending pain.
    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 how can 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.
    This is because success has been taken away from me.

¹⁴ “They say, ‘A man’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble.
    This should be done even if he stops fearing God All-Powerful.’
¹⁵ But my brothers cannot be counted on.
    They are like streams that do not flow regularly,
    streams that sometimes run over.
¹⁶ They are like streams made dark by melting ice,
    that rise with melting snow.
¹⁷ But they stop flowing when it is the dry season.
    They go away when it is hot.
¹⁸ Groups of travelers turn away from their paths.
    They go into the desert and die.
¹⁹ The groups of travelers from Tema look for water.
    The traders of Sheba who travel look hopefully.
²⁰ They are upset because they had been sure.
    But 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 throw lots for orphans.
    And you 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 “Man has a hard task on earth.
    His days are like those of a hired man.
² Man is like a slave wishing for the evening shadows.
    Or he is like a hired man who wants his pay.
³ But I am given months that are empty.
    Nights of misery have been given to me.
⁴ When I lie down, I think, ‘How long is it until I get up?’
    The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
⁵ My body is covered with worms and scabs.
    My skin is broken and full of running sores.

⁶ “My days go by faster than a weaver moves his tool.
    And they come to an end without hope.
⁷ Remember, God, that my life is only as long as 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 A cloud disappears and is gone.
    In the same way, a person who goes where the dead are does not return.
¹⁰ He will never come back to his house again.
    His place will not know him 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 I think my couch will stop my complaint.
¹⁴ Then you frighten me with dreams.
    You 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.
    Let me alone. My days have no meaning.

¹⁷ “Why do you make man so important?
    Why do you give him so much attention?
¹⁸ Will you examine him every morning?
    Why do you test him every moment?
¹⁹ Will you never look away from me?
    Will you not let me alone even long enough to swallow?
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    you watcher of men?
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 and die.
    You will search for me, but I will be no more.”