1 Then Job replied: |
2 "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! |
3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas--no wonder my words have been impetuous. |
4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me. |
5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? |
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg? |
7 I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill. |
8 "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, |
9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off! |
10 Then I would still have this consolation--my joy in unrelenting pain--that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. |
11 "What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? |
12 Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? |
13 Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me? |
14 "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. |
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow |
16 when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, |
17 but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels. |
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish. |
19 The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope. |
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed. |
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid. |
22 Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth, |
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless'? |
24 "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. |
25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? |
26 Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind? |
27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. |
28 "But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? |
29 Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. |
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? |