Then Job said in reply:
If my anguish were weighed,
My full calamity laid on the scales,
It would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
That is why I spoke recklessly.
For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
My spirit absorbs their poison;
God's terrors are arrayed against me.
Does a wild ass bray when he has grass?
Does a bull bellow over his fodder?
Can what is tasteless be eaten without salt?
Does mallow juice have any flavor?
I refuse to touch them;
They are like food when I am sick.
Would that my request were granted,
That God gave me what I wished for;
Would that God consented to crush me,
Loosed His hand and cut me off.
Then this would be my consolation,
As I writhed in unsparing pains:
That I did not suppress my words against the Holy One.
What strength have I, that I should endure?
How long have I to live, that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of rock?
Is my flesh bronze?
Truly, I cannot help myself;
I have been deprived of resourcefulness.
A friend owes loyalty to one who fails,
Though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty;
My comrades are fickle, like a wadi,
Like a bed on which streams once ran.
They are dark with ice;
Snow obscures them;
But when they thaw, they vanish;
In the heat, they disappear where they are.
Their course twists and turns;
They run into the desert and perish.
Caravans from Tema look to them;
Processions from Sheba count on them.
They are disappointed in their hopes;
When they reach the place, they stand aghast.
So you are as nothing:
At the sight of misfortune, you take fright.
Did I say to you, "I need your gift;
Pay a bribe for me out of your wealth;
Deliver me from the clutches of my enemy;
Redeem me from violent men"?
Teach me; I shall be silent;
Tell me where I am wrong.
How trenchant honest words are;
But what sort of reproof comes from you?
Do you devise words of reproof,
But count a hopeless man's words as wind?
You would even cast lots over an orphan,
Or barter away your friend.
Now be so good as to face me;
I will not lie to your face.
Relent! Let there not be injustice;
Relent! I am still in the right.
Is injustice on my tongue?
Can my palate not discern evil?
Job 6
(JPS)
