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6:1  Job answered Eliphaz.
6:2  Job: Would that my anguish were weighed, laid on a scale together with the disaster I’ve suffered!
6:3  For there is not enough sand in the seas to outweigh it! It’s no wonder my untamed words are but incoherent stammering.
6:4  The arrows of the Highest One have sunk deeply into me; my spirit drinks their poison. The terrors of God assemble like soldiers marching against me.
6:5  Does a wild donkey bray in hunger in a field of fresh grass? Does an ox low with pangs over plenty of feed?
6:6  If I were served a tasteless mush, how could I eat it without at least adding salt? Or is there even any sense of taste in the slime of a plant?
6:7  I refuse to eat, and I gag at the thought of it. This vile food sickens me.
6:8  If only my one request were answered, if only God would grant me the fulfillment of my only hope:
6:9  That God would be willing to crush me, to kill me, that God would release His hand and cut me off.
6:10  At least then I would have a crumb of consolation, one source of joy in the midst of this relentless agony: I never denied the words of the Holy One in my pain.
6:11  Job: What strength do I have, that I should persist in this life? And what is my life’s end, that I should forestall it?
6:12  Is my strength like that of stones? Is my flesh like bronze?
6:13  Can I even hope to help myself, or has any chance of help been driven away?
6:14  A despondent person deserves kindness from his friend, even though he strays from the fear of the Highest One.
6:15  But you, my brothers, are unpredictable like an unexpected flood of the wadi that quickly rises and then falls,
6:16  That contain dark, muddy swirls of thawing ice that swell in the melting snow,
6:17  But whose flow is stopped in the summer heat and that vanish in their gullies under the heat of the sun.
6:18  The path of their course winds along, goes out into the desert and disappears.
6:19  You travelers have heard how the experienced caravans from Tema searched for water, how the travelers of Sheba expected to find it;
6:20  But their confidence turned to frustration and shame; for when they arrived, they found no water, only disappointment.
6:21  Now you, too, have come to nothing. You see my terror and are afraid for yourselves.
6:22  Have I ever asked you to give me anything, or from your means to offer a bribe on my behalf?
6:23  Have I ever asked you to rescue me from my enemies’ hands, or to deliver me from the clutches of powerful adversaries?
6:24  In all seriousness, teach me, and I will be silent. Where I have erred? Help me understand.
6:25  True, honest words are painful, but what does your chiding confirm?
6:26  Was it your intent to correct me? Did you imagine that, desperate as I was, my words were nothing but wind?
6:27  Yes, it seems you’d have no qualms about sending an orphan into slavery or selling out a friend.
6:28  Now do me the favor of looking at me; look me in my face; I will not lie to your face.
6:29  Turn back; don’t let any more harm be done. Turn back to me now; my reputation and integrity are at stake.
6:30  Is there any wickedness, any poisonous word on my tongue? Don’t you think I can tell when I’ve tasted a ruinous lie?