JOB 6
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
[1] Then Job answered and said:
[2] “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
[3] For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
[4] For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
[5] Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
or the ox low over his fodder?
[6] Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
[7] My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.
[8] “Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfill my hope,
[9] that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
[10] This would be my comfort;
I would even exult in pain unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
[11] What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
[12] Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
[13] Have I any help in me,
when resource is driven from me?
[14] “He who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
[15] My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential streams that pass away,
[16] which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
[17] When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
[18] The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste and perish.
[19] The caravans of Tema look,
the travelers of Sheba hope.
[20] They are ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are disappointed.
[21] For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.
[22] Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
[23] Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
[24] “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone astray.
[25] How forceful are upright words!
But what does reproof from you reprove?
[26] Do you think that you can reprove words,
when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
[27] You would even cast lots over the fatherless,
and bargain over your friend.
[28] “But now, be pleased to look at me,
for I will not lie to your face.
[29] Please turn; let no injustice be done.
Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
[30] Is there any injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? (ESV)
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