Job 6
1 But Job answered and said,
2 Oh that one would indeed weigh the
wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together!
3 And verily they would be heavier
than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain.
4 For the arrows of the Lord are in my
body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they
pierce me. 5 What then? will the wild
ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? or again, will the ox low at
the manger, when he has fodder?
6 Shall bread be eaten without salt?
or again, is there taste in empty words?
7 For my wrath cannot cease; for I
perceive my food as the smell of a lion
to be loathsome.
8 For oh that he would grant
my desire, and my petition might come, and the Lord
would grant my hope! 9 Let the Lord
begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me.
10 Let the grave be my city, upon the
walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied
the holy words of my God. 11 For what
is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures?
12 Is my strength the strength of
stones? or is my flesh of brass?
13 Or have I not trusted in him? but
help is far from me.
14 Mercy has rejected me; and the
visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.
15 My nearest relations have not
regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.
16 They who used to reverence me, now
have come against me like snow or congealed ice.
17 When it has melted at the approach
of heat, it is not known what it was.
18 Thus I also have been deserted of
all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast.
19 Behold the ways of the Thæmanites,
ye that mark the paths of the Sabæans.
20 They too that trust in cities and
riches shall come to shame. 21 But ye
also have come to me without pity; so that beholding my wound ye are afraid.
22 What? have I made any demand of
you? or do I ask for strength from you,
23 to deliver me from enemies, or to
rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones?
24 Teach ye me, and I will be silent:
if in anything I have erred, tell me.
25 But as it seems, the words of a
true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you.
26 Neither will your reproof cause me
to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech.
27 Even because ye attack the
fatherless, and insult your friend.
28 But now, having looked upon your
countenances, I will not lie. 29 Sit
down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; and unite again with the just.
30 For there is no injustice in my
tongue; and does not my throat meditate understanding?