Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
6 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 (A)the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
4 For (B)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?[a]
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.[b]
8 “Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfil my hope,
9 that it would (C)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[c] in pain (D)unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of (E)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 (F)withholds[d] kindness from a (G)friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 My (H)brothers are (I)treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential (J)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 (K)the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of (L)Tema look,
the travellers of (M)Sheba hope.
20 They are (N)ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are (O)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 (P)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 (Q)wind?
27 You would even (R)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 (S)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?
Footnotes
- Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Job 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Job 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Job 6:14 Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Cross references
- Job 6:3 : [Prov. 27:3]
- Job 6:4 : Ps. 38:2
- Job 6:9 : 1 Kgs. 19:4; [Num. 11:15]
- Job 6:10 : [Isa. 30:14]
- Job 6:10 : Lev. 19:2; Isa. 57:15; Hos. 11:9
- Job 6:14 : [Prov. 11:24]
- Job 6:14 : [Prov. 17:17]
- Job 6:15 : [Ps. 38:11; 41:9]
- Job 6:15 : [1 Sam. 14:33]
- Job 6:15 : [Jer. 15:18]
- Job 6:18 : [Gen. 1:2; Jer. 4:23]
- Job 6:19 : Gen. 25:15; 1 Chr. 1:30; Isa. 21:14; Jer. 25:23
- Job 6:19 : See 1 Kgs. 10:1
- Job 6:20 : Isa. 1:29; Jer. 14:3
- Job 6:20 : Isa. 1:29; Jer. 14:3
- Job 6:23 : ch. 15:20; 27:13
- Job 6:26 : ch. 7:7; Isa. 41:29
- Job 6:27 : Joel 3:3; Nah. 3:10
- Job 6:29 : ch. 17:10