Job 6

Job’s Friends Are No Help

1 Then Job ^{▼▼ Lit answered and said}answered, 2 ^b“Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!
3 “For then it would be ^cheavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.
4 “For the ^darrows of the Almighty are within me,
^{▼▼ Lit Whose}Their ^fpoison my spirit drinks;
The ^gterrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 “Does the ^hwild 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 ^{▼▼ Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain. Perhaps the juice of a plant}white of an egg?
7 “My soul ^jrefuses 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 longing!
9 “Would that God were ^kwilling to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
10 “But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I ^lhave not ^{▼▼ Lit hidden}denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should ^{▼▼ Lit prolong my soul
,} ^oendure?
12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 “Is it that my ^phelp is not within me,
And that ^{▼▼ So ancient versions
,} ^rdeliverance is driven from me?

14 “For the ^sdespairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not ^tforsake the ^{▼▼ Or reverence}fear of the Almighty.
15 “My brothers have acted ^vdeceitfully like a ^{▼▼ Or brooks}wadi,
Like the torrents of ^{▼▼ Or brooks}wadis which vanish,
16 Which are turbid because of ice
And into which the snow ^{▼▼ Lit hides itself}melts.
17 “When ^zthey become waterless, they ^{▼▼ Or cease}are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 “The ^{▼▼ Or caravans turn from their course, they go up into the waste and perish}paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
19 “The caravans of ^acTema looked,
The travelers of ^adSheba hoped for them.
20 “They ^aewere ^{▼▼ Lit ashamed}disappointed for they had trusted,
They came there and were confounded.
21 “Indeed, you have now become such,
^agYou see a terror and are afraid.
22 “Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24 “Teach me, and ^ahI will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.
25 “How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 “Do you intend to reprove my words,
When the ^aiwords of one in despair belong to the wind?
27 “You would even ^ajcast lots for ^akthe orphans
And ^albarter over your friend.
28 “Now please look at me,
And see if I ^amlie to your face.
29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, ^anmy righteousness is yet in it.
30 “Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot ^aomy palate discern ^{▼▼ Or words}calamities?