NETtext - Job - 6

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 low near 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?