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6:1  Then Job answered:
6:2  If only my grief could be weighed and my devastation placed with it on the scales.
6:3  For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas! That is why my words are rash.
6:4  Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks their poison. God’s terrors are arrayed against me.
6:5  Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox low over its fodder?
6:6  Is bland food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in an egg white?
6:7  I refuse to touch them; they are like contaminated food.
6:8  If only my request would be granted and God would provide what I hope for:
6:9  that he would decide to crush me, to unleash his power and cut me off!
6:10  It would still bring me comfort, and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
6:11  What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
6:12  Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
6:13  Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.
6:14  A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
6:15  My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow
6:16  and become darkened because of ice, and the snow melts into them.
6:17  The wadis evaporate in warm weather; they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
6:18  Caravans turn away from their routes, go up into the desert, and perish.
6:19  The caravans of Tema look for these streams. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
6:20  They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water. When they arrive there, they are disappointed.
6:21  So this is what you have now become to me. When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
6:22  Have I ever said, “Give me something” or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
6:23  or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand” or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
6:24  Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand what I did wrong.
6:25  How painful honest words can be! But what does your rebuke prove?
6:26  Do you think that you can disprove my words or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?
6:27  No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child and negotiate a price to sell your friend.
6:28  But now, please look at me; I will not lie to your face.
6:29  Reconsider; don’t be unjust. Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.
6:30  Is there injustice on my tongue or can my palate not taste disaster?