| | 1 | Then Job replied: | |
| | 2 | "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! | |
| | 3 | It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas--no wonder my words have been impetuous. | |
| | 4 | The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me. | |
| | 5 | Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? | |
| | 6 | Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg? | |
| | 7 | I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill. | |
| | 8 | "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, | |
| | 9 | that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off! | |
| | 10 | Then I would still have this consolation--my joy in unrelenting pain--that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. | |
| | 11 | "What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? | |
| | 12 | Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? | |
| | 13 | Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me? | |
| | 14 | "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. | |
| | 15 | But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow | |
| | 16 | when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, | |
| | 17 | but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels. | |
| | 18 | Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish. | |
| | 19 | The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope. | |
| | 20 | They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed. | |
| | 21 | Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid. | |
| | 22 | Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth, | |
| | 23 | deliver me from the hand of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless'? | |
| | 24 | "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. | |
| | 25 | How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? | |
| | 26 | Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind? | |
| | 27 | You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. | |
| | 28 | "But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? | |
| | 29 | Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. | |
| | 30 | Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? | |
