Job, 6

1. Job spoke next. He said:

1. Then Job answered:

2. If only my misery could be weighed, and all my ills be put together on the scales!

2. "O that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!

3. But they outweigh the sands of the seas: what wonder then if my words are wild?

3. For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.

4. The arrows of Shaddai stick fast in me, my spirit absorbs their poison, God's terrors stand paraded against me.

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 a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox low when its fodder is within reach?

5. Does the wild ass bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder?

6. Is not food insipid, eaten without salt, is there any taste in egg-white?

6. Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the slime of the purslane?

7. But the very things my appetite revolts at are now my diet in sickness.

7. My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me.

8. Will no one hear my prayer, will not God himself grant my hope?

8. "O that I might have my request, and that God would grant my desire;

9. May it please God to crush me, to give his hand free play and do away with me!

9. that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

10. This thought, at least, would give me comfort (a thrill of joy in unrelenting pain), that I never rebelled against the Holy One's decrees.

10. This would be my consolation; I would even exult in pain unsparing; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11. But have I the strength to go on waiting? And why be patient, when doomed to such an end?

11. What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?

12. Is mine the strength of stone, is my flesh made of bronze?

12. Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?

13. Can I support myself on nothing? Has not all help deserted me?

13. In truth I have no help in me, and any resource is driven from me.

14. Refuse faithful love to your neighbour and you forsake the fear of Shaddai.

14. "He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15. Like the torrent, my brothers have proved deceptive, as fleeting torrents they flow:

15. My brethren are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as freshets that pass away,

16. the ice makes their waters turgid when, above them, the snow melts,

16. which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.

17. but, come the burning summer, they run dry, they vanish in the heat of the sun.

17. In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18. Caravans leave the trail to find them, go deep into wastelands, and are lost.

18. The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste, and perish.

19. The caravans of Tema look to them, and on them Sheba's convoys build their hopes.

19. The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.

20. Their trust brings only embarrassment, they reach them only to be thwarted.

20. They are disappointed because they were confident; they come thither and are confounded.

21. And this is how you now treat me, terrified at the sight of me, you take fright.

21. Such you have now become to me; you see my calamity, and are afraid.

22. Have I said to you, 'Give me something, make some present for me at your own cost,

22. Have I said, `Make me a gift'? Or, `From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?

23. snatch me from the grasp of an oppressor, ransom me from the grip of a violent man'?

23. Or, `Deliver me from the adversary's hand'? Or, `Ransom me from the hand of oppressors'?

24. Put me right, and I shall say no more; show me where I have been at fault.

24. "Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have erred.

25. Fair comment can be borne without resentment, but what are your strictures aimed at?

25. How forceful are honest words! But what does reproof from you reprove?

26. Do you think mere words deserve censure, desperate speech that the wind blows away?

26. Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?

27. Soon you will be haggling over the price of an orphan, and selling your friend at bargain price!

27. You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend.

28. Come, I beg you, look at me: man to man, I shall not lie.

28. "But now, be pleased to look at me; for I will not lie to your face.

29. Relent then, no harm is done; relent then, since I am upright.

29. Turn, I pray, let no wrong be done. Turn now, my vindication is at stake.

30. Is evil to be found on my lips? Can I not recognise misfortune when I taste it?

30. Is there any wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern calamity?