The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 Job answered:
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Then Job spoke again:
2 "If my misery could be weighed, if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales,
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“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,
3 It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea! Is it any wonder that I'm screaming like a caged cat?
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they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.
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.
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For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God’s terrors are lined up against me.
5 Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture - so don't expect me to keep quiet in this.
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Don’t I have a right to complain? Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?
6 Do you see what God has dished out for me? It's enough to turn anyone's stomach!
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Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?
7 Everything in me is repulsed by it - it makes me sick. Pressed Past the Limits
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My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!
8 "All I want is an answer to one prayer, a last request to be honored:
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“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.
9 Let God step on me - squash me like a bug, and be done with me for good.
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I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
10 I'd at least have the satisfaction of not having blasphemed the Holy God, before being pressed past the limits.
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At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, 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?
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But I don’t have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.
12 Do you think I have nerves of steel? Do you think I'm made of iron?
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Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of 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
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No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.
14 "When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them.
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“One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert - one day they're gushing with water
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My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring
16 From melting ice and snow cascading out of the mountains,
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when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
17 But by midsummer they're dry, gullies baked dry in the sun.
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But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.
18 Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink, end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst.
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The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
19 Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water, tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink.
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The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
20 They arrive so confident - but what a disappointment! They get there, and their faces fall!
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They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
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.
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You, too, have given no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
22 It's not as though I asked you for anything - I didn't ask you for one red cent -
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But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
23 Nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me. So why all this dodging and shuffling?
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Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies, or to save me from ruthless people?
24 "Confront me with the truth and I'll shut up, show me where I've gone off the track.
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Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong.
25 Honest words never hurt anyone, but what's the point of all this pious bluster?
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Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?
26 You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air.
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Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?
27 Are people mere things to you? Are friends just items of profit and loss?
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You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.
28 "Look me in the eyes! Do you think I'd lie to your face?
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Look at me! Would I lie to your face?
29 Think it over - no double-talk! Think carefully - my integrity is on the line!
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Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.
30 Can you detect anything false in what I say? Don't you trust me to discern good from evil?
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Do you think I am lying? Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.