Job 6

1Then Job said in reply:

2If my anguish were weighed,My full calamity laid on the scales,

3It would be heavier than the sand of the sea;That is why I spoke recklessly.

4For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;My spirit absorbs their poison;God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

5Does a wild ass bray when it has grass?Does a bull bellow over its fodder?

6Can what is tasteless be eaten without salt?Does mallow juice have any flavor?

7I refuse to touch them;They are like food when I am sick.

8Would that my request were granted,That God gave me what I wished for;

9Would that God consented to crush me,Loosed a divine hand and cut me off.

10Then this would be my consolation,As I writhed in unsparing pains:That I did not suppress my words against the Holy One.

11What strength have I, that I should endure?How long have I to live, that I should be patient?

12Is my strength the strength of rock?Is my flesh bronze?

13Truly, I cannot help myself;I have been deprived of resourcefulness.

14A friend owes loyalty to one who fails,Though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty;

15My comrades are fickle, like a wadi,Like a bed on which streams once ran.

16They are dark with ice;Snow obscures them;

17But when they thaw, they vanish;In the heat, they disappear where they are.

18Their course twists and turns;They run into the desert and perish.

19Caravans from Tema look to them;Processions from Sheba count on them.

20They are disappointed in their hopes;When they reach the place, they stand aghast.

21So you are as nothing:, with Targum; meaning of Heb. uncertain. At the sight of misfortune, you take fright.

22Did I say to you, “I need your gift;Pay a bribe for me out of your wealth;

23Deliver me from the clutches of my enemy;Redeem me from the violent”?

24Teach me; I shall be silent;Tell me where I am wrong.

25How trenchant honest words are; But what sort of reproof comes from you?

26Do you devise words of reproof,But count the words of someone hopeless as wind?

27You would even cast lots over an orphan,Or barter away your friend.

28Now be so good as to face me;I will not lie to your face.

29Relent! Let there not be injustice;Relent! I am still in the right.

30Is injustice on my tongue?Can my palate not discern evil?