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16:1  Then Job answered:
16:2  “I have heard many things like these. You are all painful comforters!
16:3  Will your long, useless speeches never end? What makes you keep on arguing?
16:4  I also could speak as you do if you were in my place. I could make great speeches against you. And I could shake my head at you.
16:5  But, instead, my words would encourage you. I would speak words of comfort to bring you relief.
16:6  “But if I speak, my pain does not become less. And if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
16:7  God, you have surely taken away my strength. You have destroyed my whole family.
16:8  You have made me thin and weak. And people feel that this shows I have done wrong.
16:9  God attacks me and tears me with anger. He grinds his teeth at me. My enemy stares at me with his angry eyes.
16:10  People open their mouths to make fun of me. They hit my cheeks to insult me. They join together against me.
16:11  God has turned me over to evil men. He has thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
16:12  Everything was fine with me. But then God broke me into pieces. He held me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target.
16:13  God’s archers surround me. He stabs my kidneys and has no mercy. He spills my blood on the ground.
16:14  Again and again God attacks me. He runs at me like a soldier.
16:15  “I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness. I have buried my face in the dust.
16:16  My face is red from crying. I have dark circles around my eyes.
16:17  And yet my hands have never done anything cruel. And my prayer is pure.
16:18  “Earth, please do not cover up my blood. Don’t let my cry ever stop being heard!
16:19  Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven. The one who is on my side is high above.
16:20  The one who speaks for me is my friend. While he does this, my eyes pour out tears to God.
16:21  He begs God on behalf of a man as a man begs for his friend.
16:22  “Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey from which I cannot return.