6:1 Then Job responded,
6:2 “Oh if only my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my disaster!
6:3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
For that reason my words have been rash.
6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
①My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God line up against me.
▷ ①Lit Whose poison my spirit drinks
6:5 Does the wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his feed?
6:6 Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the ①juice of an alkanet plant?
▷ ①Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain
6:7 My soul refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.
6:8 “Oh, that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!
6:9 Oh, that God would decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
6:10 But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not ①denied the words of the Holy One.
▷ ①Lit hidden
6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should ①endure?
▷ ①Lit prolong my soul
6:12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
6:13 Is it that my help is not within me,
And that a good outcome is driven away from me?
6:14 “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not abandon the ①fear of the Almighty.
▷ ①Or reverence for
6:15 My brothers have acted deceitfully like a ①wadi,
Like the torrents of ②wadis which drain away,
▷ ①I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season ②I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season
6:16 Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow ①melts.
▷ ①Lit hides itself
6:17 When they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
6:18 The ①paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.
▷ ①Or caravans turn from their course, they go up into the waste and perish
6:19 The caravans of Tema looked,
The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
6:20 They were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.
6:21 Indeed, you have now become such,
You see terrors and are afraid.
6:22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
6:23 Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?
6:24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have done wrong.
6:25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
6:26 Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?
6:27 You would even cast lots for the orphans,
And barter over your friend.
6:28 Now please look at me,
And see if I am lying to your face.
6:29 Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.
6:30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does my palate not discern disasters?