Job 6
1 But Job answered and said,
Then Job spoke again, saying [to Eliphaz],
2 Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together!
“If all my troubles and misery could be put on a scale and weighed,
3 And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain.
they would be heavier than all the sands [on the shores] of the oceans. That is why I spoke (very rashly/without thinking clearly) [about the day that I was born].
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.
[It is as though] Almighty [God] has shot me with arrows. [It is as though] those arrows had poison on their tips, and that poison has gone into my spirit. The things that God has done to me have terrified 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 a fodder?
Just like a wild donkey does not [complain by] braying when it has plenty of grass to eat, and an ox does not [complain by] bellowing when it has food to eat [MET], [I would not complain if you were really helping/comforting me].
6 Shall bread be eaten without salt? or again, is there taste in empty words?
People complain [RHQ] when they must eat food which has no salt or other tasteless food [MET], [and that is what your words are like, Eliphaz].
7 For my wrath can’t cease; for I perceive my food as the smell of a lion [to be] loathsome.
Just like I do not want to eat food [like that], and I loathe/detests that kind of food [MET], [I do not appreciate what you have said to me].
8 For oh that he would grant [my desire], and my petition might come, and the Lord would grant my hope!
“I wish that God would do for me what I have requested from him [DOU].
9 Let the Lord begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me.
I wish that he would crush me [and let me die]. I wish that he would reach out his hand and take away my life.
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.
If he would do that, I would be comforted by knowing that in spite of the great pain that I have suffered, I have always obeyed what [God, ] the Holy One, has commanded.
11 For what is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures?
But now I do not have [RHQ] enough strength to endure all these things. And since I have nothing [to hope for] in (the future/this life), it is difficult for me to be patient now [RHQ].
12 Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
I am not [RHQ] strong like rocks are, and my body is not made of bronze.
13 Or have I not trusted in him? but help is [far] from me.
So I am not able to help myself, and [it seems that] there is no one to rescue me.”
14 Mercy has rejected me; and the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.
“When a man has many troubles, his friends should be kind to him, even if he stops revering Almighty [God].
15 My nearest relations have not regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.
But [you, ] my friends, are not dependable. You are like streams: They spill over their banks [in the spring]
16 They who used to reverence me, now have come against me like snow or congealed ice.
when [the melting] ice and snow make those streams overflow,
17 When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was.
but when the dry season comes, there is no water flowing [in those streams], and the channels dry up.
18 Thus I also have been deserted of all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast.
[The caravans of merchants] turn off the path [to search for some water], but there is no water, so they die [in the desert].
19 Behold the ways of the Thaemanites, you that mark the paths of the Sabaeans.
The men in those caravans search [for some water] because they are sure that they will find some.
20 They too that trust in cities and riches shall come to shame.
But they do not find any, so they are very disappointed.
21 But you also have come to me without pity; so that beholding my wound you are afraid.
Similarly, you friends have not helped me at all! You have seen that terrible things have happened to me, and you are afraid [that God might do similar things to you].
22 What? have I made any demand of you? or do I ask for strength from you,
[After I lost all my wealth, ] did I ask any of you for money? [RHQ] Did I plead with any of you to spend some of your money to help me [RHQ]?
23 to deliver me from enemies, or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones?
Have I asked any of you to rescue me from my enemies [RHQ]? Have I asked you to save me from those who (oppressed me/treated me badly) [RHQ]? [No!]”
24 Teach you me, and I will be silent: if in anything I have erred, tell me.
“Answer me [now, and then] I will be quiet; tell me what wrong things I have done!
25 But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you.
When people speak what is true, that will not hurt the person who hears it, but what you say, criticizing me, [is not true, so your saying it] proves nothing [RHQ]!
26 Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech.
I am a man who has nothing to hope for, but you try to correct me, and you think what I say is nothing but wind [RHQ]!
27 Even because you attack the fatherless, and insult your friend.
You do not sympathize with me at all [for all that I am suffering]. [You are heartless!] You would even gamble to see who gets an orphan [as a prize]!
28 But now, having looked upon your countenances, I will not lie.
Please look at me! I will not [RHQ] lie to you.
29 Sit down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; and unite again with the just.
Stop [saying that I have sinned, and] stop criticizing me unjustly! You should realize that I have not done things that are wrong.
30 For there is no injustice in my tongue; and does not my throat meditate understanding?
Do you think that I am lying? No, I am not lying, because I know what is right and what is wrong [RHQ].”
