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6:1 Then Job responded:
6:2 “Oh, if only my grief could be weighed, and my misfortune laid on the scales too! 6:3 But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea, that is why my words have been wild. 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; my spirit drinks their poison; God’s sudden terrors are arrayed against me.
6:5 “Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass? Or does the ox bellow over its fodder? 6:6 Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 6:7 I have refused to touch such things; they are like loathsome food to me.
6:8 “Oh that my request would be realized, and that God would grant me what I long for! 6:9 And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me. 6:10 Then I would yet have my comfort, then I would rejoice, in spite of pitiless pain, for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. 6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life? 6:12 Is my strength like that of stones? Or is my flesh made of bronze? 6:13 Is not my power to help myself nothing, and has not every resource been driven from me?
6:14 “To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 6:15 My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream, and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away. 6:16 They are dark because of ice; snow is piled up over them. 6:17 When they are scorched, they dry up, when it is hot, they vanish from their place. 6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish. 6:19 The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams; the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them. 6:20 They were distressed because each one had been so confident; they arrived there, but were disappointed. 6:21 For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror and are afraid.
6:22 “Have I ever said, ‘Give me something, and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’? 6:23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power, and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?
6:24 “Teach me, and I, for my part, will be silent; explain to me how I have been mistaken. 6:25 How painful are honest words! But what does your reproof prove? 6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind? 6:27 Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless, and auction off your friend.
6:28 “Now then, be good enough to look at me; and I will not lie to your face! 6:29 Relent, let there be no falsehood; reconsider, for my righteousness is intact! 6:30 Is there any falsehood on my lips? Can my mouth not discern evil things?
NET Bible Second Edition. Copyright 2017 Biblical Studies Press
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