Job 6

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz

¹Then Job answered:

²If only my grief could be weighed

and my devastation ^a placed with it on the scales. ^b

³For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!

That is why my words are rash.

⁴Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced ^c me;

my spirit drinks their poison.

God’s terrors are arrayed against me. ^d

⁵Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass

or an ox low over its fodder?

⁶Is bland food eaten without salt?

Is there flavor in an egg white? ^e

⁷I refuse to touch them;

they are like contaminated food. ^f

⁸If only my request would be granted

and God would provide what I hope for:

⁹that he would decide to crush me,

to unleash his power and cut me off!

¹⁰It would still bring me comfort,

and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain

that I have not denied ^g the words of the Holy One. ^h

¹¹What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope?

What is my future, that I should be patient?

¹²Is my strength that of stone,

or my flesh made of bronze?

¹³Since I cannot help myself,

the hope for success has been banished from me.

¹⁴A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, ⁱ,^j

even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,

as seasonal streams that overflow

¹⁶and become darkened ^k because of ice,

and the snow melts into them.

¹⁷The wadis evaporate in warm weather;

they disappear from their channels in hot weather.

¹⁸Caravans turn away from their routes,

go up into the desert, and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema look for these streams.

The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.

²⁰They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.

When they arrive there, they are disappointed. ^l

²¹So this is what you have now become to me. ^m

When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

²²Have I ever said, “Give me something”

or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”

²³or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand”

or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?

²⁴Teach me, and I will be silent.

Help me understand what I did wrong.

²⁵How painful honest words can be!

But what does your rebuke prove?

²⁶Do you think that you can disprove my words

or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind? ⁿ

²⁷No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child

and negotiate a price to sell your friend. ^o

²⁸But now, please look at me;

I will not lie to your face. ^p

²⁹Reconsider; don’t be unjust.

Reconsider; my righteousness ^q is still the issue.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue

or can my palate not taste disaster? ^r