Job: My Complaint is Just

6 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,

And my calamity laid with it on the scales!

3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—

Therefore my words have been rash.

4 aFor the arrows of the Almighty are within me;

My spirit drinks in their poison;

bThe terrors of God are arrayed cagainst me.

5 Does the dwild donkey bray when it has grass,

Or does the ox low over its fodder?

6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 My soul refuses to touch them;

They are as loathsome food to me.

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,

That God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9 That it would please God to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and ecut me off!

10 Then I would still have comfort;

Though in anguish I would exult,

He will not spare;

For fI have not concealed the words of gthe Holy One.

11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope?

And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh bronze?

13 Is my help not within me?

And is success driven from me?

14 “To hhim who is 1afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend,

Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15 iMy brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook,

jLike the streams of the brooks that pass away,

16 Which are dark because of the ice,

And into which the snow vanishes.

17 When it is warm, they cease to flow;

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18 The paths of their way turn aside,

They go nowhere and perish.

19 The caravans of kTema look,

The travelers of lSheba hope for them.

20 They are mdisappointed 2because they were confident;

They come there and are confused.

21 For now nyou are nothing,

You see terror and oare afraid.

22 Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’?

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?

23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’?

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?

24 “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;

Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25 How forceful are right words!

But what does your arguing prove?

26 Do you intend to rebuke my words,

And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?

27 Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,

And you pundermine your friend.

28 Now therefore, be pleased to look at me;

For I would never lie to your face.

29 qYield now, let there be no injustice!

Yes, concede, my rrighteousness 3still stands!

30 Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my 4taste discern the unsavory?

Job: My Suffering is Comfortless

7 “Is there not aa time of hard service for man on earth?

Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?

2 Like a servant who 1earnestly desires the shade,

And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,

3 So I have been allotted bmonths of futility,

And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.

4 cWhen I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise,

And the night be ended?’

For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.

5 My flesh is dcaked with worms and dust,

My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

6 “My edays are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And are spent without hope.

7 Oh, remember that fmy life is a breath!

My eye will never again see good.

8 gThe eye of him who sees me will see me no more;

While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.

9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,

So hhe who goes down to the grave does not come up.

10 He shall never return to his house,

iNor shall his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will jnot restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will kcomplain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I a sea, or a sea serpent,

That You set a guard over me?

13 lWhen I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14 Then You scare me with dreams

And terrify me with visions,

15 So that my soul chooses strangling

And death rather than 2my body.

16 mI loathe my life;

I would not live forever.

nLet me alone,

For omy days are but 3a breath.

17 “What pis man, that You should exalt him,

That You should set Your heart on him,

18 That You should 4visit him every morning,

And test him every moment?

19 How long?

Will You not look away from me,

And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?

20 Have I sinned?

What have I done to You, qO watcher of men?

Why rhave You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden 5to myself?

21 Why then do You not pardon my transgression,

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust,

And You will seek me diligently,

But I will no longer be.”

Bildad: Job Should Repent

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 “How long will you speak these things,

And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

3 aDoes God subvert judgment?

Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

4 If byour sons have sinned against Him,

He has cast them away 1for their transgression.

5 cIf you would earnestly seek God

And make your supplication to the Almighty,

6 If you were pure and upright,

Surely now He would 2awake for you,

And prosper your rightful dwelling place.

7 Though your beginning was small,

Yet your latter end would dincrease abundantly.

8 “For einquire, please, of the former age,

And consider the things discovered by their fathers;

9 For fwe were born yesterday, and know 3nothing,

Because our days on earth are a shadow.

10 Will they not teach you and tell you,

And utter words from their heart?

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the reeds flourish without water?

12 gWhile it is yet green and not cut down,

It withers before any other plant.

13 So are the paths of all who hforget God;

And the hope of the ihypocrite shall perish,

14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,

And whose trust is 4a spider’s web.

15 jHe leans on his house, but it does not stand.

He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

16 He grows green in the sun,

And his branches spread out in his garden.

17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,

And look for a place in the stones.

18 kIf he is destroyed from his place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’

19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way,

And lout of the earth others will grow.

20 Behold, mGod will not 5cast away the blameless,

Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,

And your lips with 6rejoicing.

22 Those who hate you will be nclothed with shame,

And the dwelling place of the wicked 7will come to nothing.”