The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 Job answered:
1
Then Job answered and said:
2 "If my misery could be weighed, if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales,
2
“Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3 It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea! Is it any wonder that I'm screaming like a caged cat?
3
For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.
4 The arrows of God Almighty are in me, poison arrows - and I'm poisoned all through! God has dumped the whole works on 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 Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture - so don't expect me to keep quiet in this.
5
Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder?
6 Do you see what God has dished out for me? It's enough to turn anyone's stomach!
6
Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
7 Everything in me is repulsed by it - it makes me sick. Pressed Past the Limits
7
My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me.
8 "All I want is an answer to one prayer, a last request to be honored:
8
“Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope,
9 Let God step on me - squash me like a bug, and be done with me for good.
9
that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10 I'd at least have the satisfaction of not having blasphemed the Holy God, before being pressed past the limits.
10
This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 Where's the strength to keep my hopes up? What future do I have to keep me going?
11
What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12 Do you think I have nerves of steel? Do you think I'm made of iron?
12
Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13 Do you think I can pull myself up by my bootstraps? Why, I don't even have any boots! My So-Called Friends
13
Have I any help in me, when resource is driven from me?
14 "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them.
14
“He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert - one day they're gushing with water
15
My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away,
16 From melting ice and snow cascading out of the mountains,
16
which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.
17 But by midsummer they're dry, gullies baked dry in the sun.
17
When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink, end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst.
18
The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste and perish.
19 Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water, tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink.
19
The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.
20 They arrive so confident - but what a disappointment! They get there, and their faces fall!
20
They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.
21 And you, my so-called friends, are no better - there's nothing to you! One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear.
21
For you have now become nothing; you see my calamity and are afraid.
22 It's not as though I asked you for anything - I didn't ask you for one red cent -
22
Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’? Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23 Nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me. So why all this dodging and shuffling?
23
Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
24 "Confront me with the truth and I'll shut up, show me where I've gone off the track.
24
“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.
25 Honest words never hurt anyone, but what's the point of all this pious bluster?
25
How forceful are upright words! But what does reproof from you reprove?
26 You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air.
26
Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
27 Are people mere things to you? Are friends just items of profit and loss?
27
You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend.
28 "Look me in the eyes! Do you think I'd lie to your face?
28
“But now, be pleased to look at me, for I will not lie to your face.
29 Think it over - no double-talk! Think carefully - my integrity is on the line!
29
Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
30 Can you detect anything false in what I say? Don't you trust me to discern good from evil?
30
Is there any injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025