Home Master Index
←Prev   Job 6 as rendered by/in  Next→ 


6:1  Then Job responded:
6:2  If only my grief could be weighed, and my devastation placed on the scales with it!
6:3  They would certainly weigh more than the sand of the sea! No wonder my words have been rash.
6:4  The arrows of the Almighty stick in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. The terrors of God are lined up against me.
6:5  Does the wild donkey bray when it has green grass? Does the ox bellow when it is near its fodder?
6:6  Is tasteless food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in the white of an egg?
6:7  I absolutely refuse to touch it. It is no better than sickening food.
6:8  If only my request would be granted. If only God would grant me what I hope for:
6:9  that God would decide to crush me, that he would unleash his hand and cut me off.
6:10  For then I would still have this comfort: Even as I writhe in relentless pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
6:11  What strength do I have to wait hopefully? What end awaits me that would make me want to prolong my life?
6:12  Is my strength like stone, or is my flesh bronze?
6:13  Certainly I have no power to help myself, since the hope that I can recover has been driven far away from me.
6:14  A despairing person should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
6:15  But my brothers are as undependable as gullies that dry up, undependable as seasonal streams which overflow
6:16  when they are darkened by ice and swollen with melting snow,
6:17  but as quickly as they flood, they dry up in the scorching winds. When it gets hot, they vanish from their channels.
6:18  Caravans turn aside from their routes. They go off into the empty wasteland and perish.
6:19  The caravans of Tema search for these streams. The travelers of Sheba hope to find them,
6:20  but despite being confident, they are disappointed. They arrive there only to be frustrated.
6:21  Now that is what you are like! You have seen something dreadful and you panic.
6:22  Have I said, “Give me something, or offer a payment on my behalf from your wealth”?
6:23  Have I said, “Save me from the hand of my enemy, or redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
6:24  Teach me and I will be silent. Help me understand what I have done wrong.
6:25  How painful honest words are! But what does your rebuke prove?
6:26  Do you intend to attack me for mere words by treating things said by a despairing man like wind?
6:27  No doubt you would even cast lots for a fatherless child and barter away your friend!
6:28  But now, please look at me. I would not lie to your face!
6:29  Turn to me, and get rid of injustice. Turn to me. My righteousness is still intact.
6:30  Is there any injustice on my tongue? Wouldn’t my mouth detect it if I were speaking destructive words?