Job 6

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

1 Then Job answered and said:

2  “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
 3 For then it would be heavier than a the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
 4 For b the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
 5 Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
or the ox low over his fodder?
 6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow? ▼
▼ The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

 7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me. ▼
▼ The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

 8  “Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfill my hope,
 9 that it would e please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
 10 This would be my comfort;
I would even exult ▼
▼ The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
 in pain g unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of h the Holy One.
 11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
 12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
 13 Have I any help in me,
when resource is driven from me?
 14  “He who i withholds ▼
▼ Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
 kindness from a k friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
 15 My l brothers are m treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential n streams that pass away,
 16 which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
 17 When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
 18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into o the waste and perish.
 19 The caravans of p Tema look,
the travelers of q Sheba hope.
 20 They are r ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are s disappointed.
 21 For you have now become nothing;
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, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of t the ruthless’?
 24  “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone astray.
 25 How forceful are upright words!
But what does reproof from you reprove?
 26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
when the speech of a despairing man is u wind?
 27 You would even v cast lots over the fatherless,
and bargain over your friend.
 28  “But now, be pleased to look at me,
for I will not lie to your face.
 29  w Please turn; let no injustice be done.
Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
 30 Is there any injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?
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