Job 6 (New American Standard)

Job's Friends Are No Help

1 Then Job ^aanswered, 2 "¹Oh that my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my calamity ! 3 "For then it would be ²heavier than the sand of the seas ; Therefore my words have been rash. 4 "For the ³arrows of the Almighty are within me, ^bTheir ⁴poison my spirit drinks ; The ⁵terrors of God are arrayed against me. 5 "Does the ⁶wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his fodder ? 6 "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the ^cwhite of an egg ? 7 "My soul ⁷refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me. 8 "Oh that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my longing ! 9 "Would that God were ⁸willing to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off ! 10 "But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I ⁹have not ^ddenied the words of the Holy One. 11 "What is my strength, that I should wait ? And what is my end, that I should ^e10endure ? 12 "Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze ? 13 "Is it that my ¹¹help is not within me, And that ^f12deliverance is driven from me? 14 "For the ¹³despairing man there should be kindness from his friend ; So that he does not ¹⁴forsake the ^gfear of the Almighty. 15 "My brothers have acted ¹⁵deceitfully like a ^hwadi, Like the torrents of ⁱwadis which vanish, 16 Which are turbid because of ice And into which the snow ^jmelts. 17 "When ¹⁶they become waterless, they ^kare silent, When it is hot, they vanish from their place. 18 "The ^lpaths of their course wind along, They go up into nothing and perish. 19 "The caravans of ¹⁷Tema looked, The travelers of ¹⁸Sheba hoped for them. 20 "They ¹⁹were ^mdisappointed for they had trusted, They came there and were confounded. 21 "Indeed, you have now become such, ²⁰You see a terror and are afraid. 22 "Have I said, 'Give me something,' Or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,' 23 Or, 'Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,' Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants '? 24 "Teach me, and ²¹I will be silent ; And show me how I have erred. 25 "How painful are honest words ! But what does your argument prove ? 26 "Do you intend to reprove my words, When the ²²words of one in despair belong to the wind ? 27 "You would even ²³cast lots for ²⁴the orphans And ²⁵barter over your friend. 28 "Now please look at me, And see if I ²⁶lie to your face. 29 "Desist now, let there be no injustice ; Even desist, ²⁷my righteousness is yet in it. 30 "Is there injustice on my tongue ? Cannot ²⁸my palate discern ⁿcalamities ?